Offaly Special Olympics volunteer wins award
Offaly’s Yvonne Tierney was honoured at the ‘Volunteers in Sport Awards’, hosted by the Federation of Irish Sport in partnership with EBS on Wednesday last in Farmleigh House, Dublin.
Yvonne received the Offaly sports volunteer of the year award for her commitment to Ballinamere Special Olympics Swimming Club. The award was presented by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD.
Yvonne has been volunteering with Ballinamere Special Olympics Club for 12 years where she is the head swimming coach.
In this time, she has trained children with special needs on a weekly basis. She is dedicated to every child, every competition and every training session.
Ballinamere Special Olympics Club is the only club in the area that provides the opportunity for all athletes to participate in regional, national and worldwide competitions. Without coaches like Yvonne, children would not have the opportunity to participate in such wonderful activities and events.
The Volunteers in Sport Awards were created to recognise the contributions, commitment and dedication of the 450,000 volunteers who give their time to Irish sport each year.
A total of 34 awards were presented at the ceremony, including 32 county-level awards, an overall ‘outstanding contribution’ award and a ‘team of volunteers’ award. Swim Ireland’s Mary Dunne received the outstanding contribution award and Limerick based ‘Women on Wheels’ received the ‘team of volunteers’ award.
Commenting at the awards, Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, said: “Sport matters. It contributes to our health, binds us together as a community and supports the economy, while bringing a sense of pride to us all. This would not be possible without the volunteers who share their time and expertise on pitches, tracks, gym floors and swimming pools across the country each and every week.”
“To this end, the Volunteers in Sport Awards is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate these volunteers," added Ms O’Connor.