Offaly girls Sinead Moran, Mary Ellen McMahon and Eimear O'Meara pictured after receiving their gold awards from Irish Girl Guides president Maureen Dillon and a certificate from Councillor Dermot Lacey. Also pictured are Irish Girl Guides chief commissioner Helen Concannon (left), St Rynagh's Guide

Banagher girl guides honoured with highest guiding award

Three Banagher girl guides were part of an 86-strong group who received the highest award in guiding at a special ceremony in Dublin last weekend.

Sixteen-year-olds Sinead Moran, Mary Ellen McMahon and Eimear O’Meara of St Rynagh’s Guides were presented with their gold award pins by Irish Girl Guides president Maureen Dillon at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin last Saturday.

A total of 86 girls received gold awards on the day, the first time such a high number of gold awards has been achieved in one year.

Girl guides worked towards gold awards over the past year by tackling a number of challenges, including exploring the outdoors, improving health and fitness, acquiring new life skills and developing a variety of interests as well as serving their local communities.

Eimear said meeting the challenges leading to her gold award led to “a great sense of self-fulfillment”. Sinead, who has been a girl guide for more than a decade, said completing the gold award was “the obvious next step” for her, while Mary Ellen described the road to the road award as “long but rewarding”.