Help us honour the Tallaght community heroes in 2020

Help us honour the Tallaght community heroes in 2020

By Mary Dennehy

DESPITE Tallaght Person of the Year 2020 being cancelled, members of the community can still recognise and say ‘thank you’ to their unsung hero.

Due to challenges presented by Covid-19, the annual community-led awards programme has been cancelled for 2020, with current Tallaght Person of the Year Lee Moroney staying on for a second term.

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At last year’s Tallaght Person of the Year were Superintendent Ian Lackey, Rose O’Keeffe, Tallaght Person of the Year Lee Moroney, Bridie Sweeney and Liz Kennedy

Each of the category winners from 2019 will also stay on for a historic two-year term.

However, despite Tallaght Person of the Year not going ahead as normal, members of the community are still being given an opportunity to recognise their unsung hero.

Awards organiser Tallaght Community Council (TCC) is asking the community to continue to recognise local heroes through its #OurHeroesYourChoice initiative.

Instead of the traditional nomination process, this year TCC is providing members of the community with Certificates of Appreciation, which can be presented directly to an unsung hero – or popped through their letter box.

The certificates will be published in The Echo Newspaper during the month of November and will also be available to download from The Echo’s website.

“Covid19 has forced us to make huge changes individually and as a community to help everyone stay safe”, Tara De Buitlear. TCC PRO said.

“So, this year, we have to appreciate our community heroes a little differently for Tallaght Person of the Year 2020.

“We can’t have a glitzy awards ceremony this year, but we can still show our appreciation and gratitude to those who make a difference in Tallaght.

“So, help us honour the Tallaght community heroes in 2020.

“Get thinking and make sure you thank your community hero the #PrideOfTallaght this November through #OurHeroesYourChoice.” 

For nearly four decades, members of the Tallaght community have been recognised for their contribution to local life through the Tallaght Person of the Year Awards.

Speaking about the cancellation of this year’s event, Ms De Buitlear said: “Each Autumn in Tallaght for the last 37 years, we reflected as a community to appreciate and recognise the many unsung heroes living amongst us, making a real and lasting positive difference in Tallaght.

“Our annual Tallaght Person of the Year awards is our unique way as a community in Tallaght to recognise and show our gratitude to all those who go the extra mile for our community.

“Each November, we gather to honour and celebrate the unsung Tallaght community heroes, putting them in the spotlight, as we recognise their invaluable contributions each year at our awards ceremony.

“This year, we have all faced the massive challenges of living with a global pandemic.

“We are living through a period of significant history in the making.

“In Tallaght, the pandemic has been challenging, but we have risen to meet the challenge head on. Our strong sense of community and volunteering has been galvanised further.

“We quickly adapted the ways we connect and support each other as a community.

“We did, what Tallaght does best, we dug deep, showed resilience and pulled together to get through the ongoing challenge together.”

On Tallaght’s current Person of the Year holding onto the chains of office for another term, Ms De Buitlear said: “Our very worthy winner, and current Tallaght person of the Year, Lee Moroney is making history by becoming the first Tallaght Person of the Year to have a two year term.

“He will continue to be our TPOTY into 2021.

“He has been on hand this year to help encourage others to stay positive, flexible and resilient, within the public health guidelines online and at social distanced events.”

Pick up The Echo during November for a Certificate of Appreciation or visit echo.ie to print off a form – and remember to share an image of your certificate with TCC and The Echo by using the hastag, #OurHeroesYourChoice.

For further details visit Tallaght Community Council’s Facebook page.

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