Remember the Sean Moore Awards? We certainly do. They were memorable because unlike most award ceremonies they were not concerned with celebrity, showbiz or glamour. Not that they lacked sparkle. That could always be found in the twinkling eyes of the unsung heroes of our community who were the worthy recipients of the awards which were set up in 1988, as part of Dublin’s millennium celebrations.
The good news is that after a bit of a hiatus the Sean Moore Awards are back. Organised by NewsFour and sponsored by the Aviva Stadium Community Fund, the awards are open to anybody – a person or organisation – who makes an exceptional contribution to the community.
The original aim of thae awards was to acknowledge some of the huge number of people who do good work in their communities and who rarely, if ever, get proper recognition. In general, they covered the Dublin 2, 4 and 6 areas.
The awards were named after the former Fianna Fáil Councillor, TD and Lord Mayor of Dublin, Sean Moore who served the area so well for so long. (So well that both a road and a park in Ringsend are named after him.) Dermot Lacey, the Labour Councillor who established the awards and is still involved, says that from the beginning the principle of the scheme was that it only had two rules.
“One, that it was for ordinary people – no famous people, no celebrities,” he explains. “The second is that it had no rules – no limiting criteria – it was open to men and women, young and old community groups, everyone really.”
There is no one reason why somebody should be nominated. It could be a good neighbour who is always doing good turns or a long serving youth, community, or residents’ association leader. “I believe that if Voluntary Ireland went on strike tomorrow Ireland would be forced to close down,” says Lacey. “These awards are a nice way for all of us to say thanks to some of the many people who make our community the great place that it is.”
The awards will take place early in the new year and we are looking for your nominations.
Please send them to: The Chairperson, Panel of Judges, Sean Moore Community Awards, c/o NewsFour, Community Centre, Thorncastle Street, Dublin 4.
Two photographs from the 2005 Sean Moore Awards.
Left: Andrew Keegan, centre, won an award for outstanding assistance to local people.
Above: Linda McMahon and Catherine Gorman of the City Housing Initiative (with Deputy Lord Mayor Andrew Montague) won the award for their project which provided modern housing for 61 families.
By Róisín Ingle
