Boland and O'Connor selected for Offaly 'person of the year' and 'unsung hero' awards
The recently-elected president of a European Union committee, Seamus Boland, and the chairman of Offaly Hospice, Professor Humphrey O'Connor, have been announced as the winners of the 2025 'Offaly person of the year' and 'unsung hero' award respectively.
The annual awards are organised by a sub-committee of the Offaly Association (Dublin) and will be presented at a gala dinner in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, on Saturday, April 11.
Seamus Boland, from the Island, Ballycumber, was elected the 35th President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) last October and will preside over its 2025–2028 term.
A lifelong advocate for rural communities and social inclusion, Seamus will guide the EU body representing organised civil society.
Throughout his career, Seamus has championed groups often left behind. These include rural communities, young people, minorities, and disadvantaged members of society. As EESC President, he has pledged to bring their voices to Brussels and across the EU.
Seamus Boland has been a member of the EESC since 2011 and served as president of the committee's civil society organisations’ group from 2020 until now.
Outside the committee, he is chief executive officer of Irish Rural Link, Ireland’s leading network for rural development, which represents thousands of communities and organisations across the country. He also serves on several national boards, including the Peatlands Council and Inland Fisheries Ireland.
Previously he was deeply involved in Macra na Feirme and education services for disadvantaged groups in Offaly and neighbouring Westmeath.
The recipient of the 2025 'unsung hero of Offaly' award is the chairman of Offaly Hospice, Profesor Humphrey O'Connor.
Humphrey has presided over the voluntary committee for many years, a group which has raised millions of euro for palliative care services in the county.
He spearheaded Offaly Hospice's campaign to secure a regional hospice for the Midlands.
Tickets for the awards event in April will be available from any committee member or from the Bridge House Hotel from next week onwards.