Bank of Ireland National Leadership Awards
Macra’s prestigious National Leadership Awards will be presented on January 24th at the Bank of Ireland Business Banking offices in Dublin. Six Macra members have made it to the final and they are Garvan Hickey from Ashford Macra club, Wicklow; Ann Marie Wade from Clonoulty Rossmore Macra Club, South Tipperary; Donal Sweeney from Carrigaline Macra Club, Seandún, Cork; Máiread Whitty from Ballycoog Macra club, Wicklow; Alison Holmes from Camross Macra club, Laois and Siobhan Kelleher from Treble R Macra club, Dublin.
The aim of the awards is to provide opportunities for members to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for leadership positions either in Macra or in other voluntary roles or future occupations. Below are profiles of the six finalists:
Donal Sweeney – Carrigaline Macra, Seandun, Cork
Donal Sweeney is an active member of the Carrigaline club in the Seandun Region of Cork. Since joining Macra, Donal has held many club, regional and county positions, with the highlight being leading his club to be Club of the Year in 2006 as Chairman. He was central in re-establishing the Cork County Executive, currently he is the Chairman of Seandun as well as being President of the Cork County Executive. Donal enjoys all that Macra has to offer from performing on stage, erecting a fence, stockjudging, playing sports or a lively debate, along with running numerous community and charity events.
Alison Holmes – Camross Macra, Laois
Alison joined Macra na Feirme in 2007 and hasn’t had much spare time since! An active member of Camross Macra na Feirme club, she has held various positions on both club and county executives. Currently she is Secretary of the Laois County Executive. Although only in Macra a short time she has participated in most aspects of the organisation’s programmes and has had many memorable moments. These include taking home the AIB Best New Member Award for Laois in 2008, being part of the Camross team which won the Ladies Indoor Soccer final and came runners up in the GAA 7-a-side competition, participating in two National Talent Competition finals, helping Camross to win the Environmental Award at the Club of the Year awards in 2009, representing Laois at the Queen of the Land festival and editing the publication entitled “Laois Macra na Feirme – Celebrating 65 Years” to commemorate the important milestone achieved by the county’s past and present members. However, Alison’s personal highlight to date was participating in the Rural Youth Europe Rally in Estonia in 2009 along with three fellow Macra members, an amazing opportunity that she gained as a result of the Bank of Ireland Leadership Awards.
Ann Marie Wade- Clonoulty/Rossmore Macra, South Tipperary
Ann Marie is a twenty three year old trainee teacher who has been a member of Clonoulty/Rossmore Macra in South Tipperary for the last six years. In that time she has held many club and county positions including Competitions Chair, County Chairperson, Club Chairperson, Club PRO and is currently serving as County Secretary. As a member of Clonoulty/Rossmore Macra, Ann Marie has also been heavily involved in the running of the International Miss Macra festival which celebrated 40 years last year and she will serve as the festival chairperson for the coming year. Over the past six years there has been many highlights for Ann Marie such as travelling to Blackpool for the National Young Farmers AGM to represent Macra, being a member of the 2007 Rally committee, researching and compiling a commemorative booklet for the 40th anniversary of the Miss Macra festival and being a member of the presentation team when her club reached the last six of the AIB Club of the Year competition in 2010. Outside of Macra Ann Marie is also a proud supporter of the greyhound industry which has been the family business for many years.
Mairead Whitty – Ballycoog Macra, Wicklow
Mairead joined Ballycoog Macra Club in 2008, and found that Macra opened a window of opportunities for her. She became Treasurer of the club shortly after joining in 2009, and was also elected onto the Wicklow County Executive as PRO. She then attended County Training which she found very beneficial in her roles. Macra has given her the opportunity to do things she never imagined she would do. She has travelled to all of the festivals around the country, along with the Rallys. She has represented Wicklow at the Kerrygold Club Question Time, been a member of the Wicklow Rainbow Capers team, and has great memories of participating in the final of the one act Drama Final in Cappoquin in 2010. Two of her proudest moments in Macra include giving her club’s presentation in Wicklow Rally’s AIB Club of the Year Final 2010, where they were placed joint second, and now reaching the final six in the Bank of Ireland National Leadership Awards. She has made wonderful lifelong friends through her involvement in Macra, with whom she shares great memories, and intends to make many more in the coming years.
Garvan Hickey – Ashford Macra na Ferime Club, Wicklow
Originally from Templeglantine, Co. Limerick, Garvan has been living in Wicklow for the last nine years and works in the Social Inclusion Unit of Wicklow Council. Garvan joined Ashford Macra in 2006, as a way of meeting new people and enjoying all the tremendous activities that Macra has to offer. Being involved in Macra has given him the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities from debating, public speaking to capers, which he would not otherwise have had the opportunity to be involved in. At club level, he has held various officer positions, including Chairperson/Secretary/PRO. Over the last number of years he has been lucky to hold different positions and county level, including treasurer and development officer. Over the last year and a half he has had the honour of holding the position of County Chairperson. He is also active in the Wicklow Fundraising Branch of the RNLI.
Siobhan Kelleher – Treble R Macra, Dublin
Siobhan became a member of Macra na Feirme in 2003 and has never looked back since. She originally joined Ballyduff Macra in West Waterford. She had an active role and took part in many of the local macra events and competitions. On finishing her degree in WIT, she relocated home to Cork and took up the position of assistant PRO with Glanmire Macra . However, with ambitions to develop her career, Siobhan relocated to Dublin after finishing her post graduate studies in UCC. Like many young people relocating to Dublin, it was a challenge trying to get accustomed to the life style and environment of the capital city, especially getting to know people. Hence, Siobhan transferred her membership to Treble R Macra in 2007 where she was subsequently elected Treble R Chairperson (2008), Dublin County Chairperson (2009) and was elected to her current role as Dublin NCR in 2010. It is during her time in Dublin Macra, that she advocated her previous Macra experience to develop the Treble R Club and assisting in the set-up of “North County Club” and “Dublin Mountains Club”. Siobhan has received two Gold Leadership Awards and was selected to attend the European Rally in Slovenia last year. She is the current National Treasurer of Macra na Feirme.
