Unsung hero John awarded a certificate of appreciation
AFTER four decades of community volunteering, John Conroy was awarded with a certificate of appreciation by Tallaght Community Council to commend him for his hard work and dedication.
John, who is a Kilnamanagh native, has spent years giving back to the community and setting up groups such as the St Kevin’s Children’s Drama Workshop and the Tallaght Youth Theatre, which the Kilnamanagh community was very receptive to.
The certificate was awarded under ‘Our Heroes Your Choice’ initiative, which is being held this year instead of the annual in-person Tallaght Person of the Year Awards and recognises unsung heroes in our communities.
Speaking about getting the public acknowledgement, John told The Echo: “I mean you don’t get involved in community work for awards, but it’s nice that somebody feels that what you are doing has value.
“I have been working in the community since I moved to Tallaght in 1975 and acknowledgement doesn’t usually fall out of the air but generally people are very helpful in what you do and have their own way of showing appreciation to what you try to contribute, but to get this acknowledgement from TCC and The Echo – it’s something else.”
Still heavily involved in the community life in Tallaght, most recently John set up the Tallaght Toastmasters.
“I started it up a couple of years back and we were growing quite nicely up until the lockdown and then we had to go on to Zoom and we held our own, but I had fears that we would have lost a lot of the progress that we have made. But since we have gone back indoors, without even promoting it, the numbers have gone back up to what they were pre-Covid – which is a major surprise.”
Speaking about the importance of community involvement, John says that “it is a two-sided thing”.
“It is what I get from it as well,” he explained. “By getting something from it, I am giving back. If you don’t get something from what you are doing that feeds your energy, you very quickly burn out.
“The ones who last a very long time in community work and volunteerism are the ones who get as much from it as what they give, and maybe even more.”
