Marie Moran Greaney, Abbeyknockmoy

Marie Moran Greaney brings pride to her native village and county, for using her talents to bring set-dancing to new levels in the region and for ensuring that Irish dancing maintains a key slot in the cultural heritage of modern Irish society.

Marie, from Abbeyknockmoy, has made an enormous contribution to arts, culture and entertainment not alone in her parish and county.

Mary Lane Heneghan, Craughwell

Mary Lane Heneghan has been a passionate and committed advocate for the thousands of Irish people suffering from cystic fibrosis, having fund-raised and campaigned tirelessly for the cause.

Mary is also a director of St Brendan's Training Centre in Loughrea. This centre caters mainly for members of the Travelling community and in this endeavour, as with her approach to cystic fibrosis, her aim is to ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to reach his/her full potential in life.

Helen Concannon, Barna

A native of Bearna, Helen Concannon has been inspirational in her young life. Having worked for her Gold Gaisce award in 1999, she is now a President's Awards leader for more than 30 young people and already 32 of her charges have won An Gaisce awards. While in college in Limerick, where she became a science teacher, Helen spent four of her summers working with the Girl Guide Association in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. There she helped the young girls to develop initiative and to feel part of the decision-making process.

Group Award: Merlin Park Walkers

Founded in 2000, the Merlin Park Walkers have become renowned for the success of their fundraising and for the obvious enjoyment their members experience when partaking in their annual strolls. They are a voluntary group, mainly made up of staff of Merlin Park Hospital. These walks, which regularly feature over 1,000 people, have raised more than €600,000 for local charities in Galway city and county and also for the development of extra services for the elderly in Merlin Park Hospital. As well as promoting a healthy lifestyle among staff, they are making a massive contribution to many charities and causes in their own locality.

Joint Award: Croí, The West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation

The joint award this year goes to a charity that is synomonous with the West of Ireland and one that has grown up with us all in the last two decades. It is a charity that set out with a dream, and driven by many committed friends and helpers, it has travelled a long way towards achieving those goals. In these days of recurring stories about the disparity in health services throughout the country, it must be remembered that not too long ago, cardiac patients had to travel outside the region to receive treatment. Croí was set up to change all that. Although the success of Croí is attributed to the thousands of walkers, climbers, runners, and raffle organisers that have funded it for 15 years, three men have been to the fore of all its goals and achievements. For their efforts in making a massive difference to the lives of everyone here in the west, Dr Kieran Daly, Ray J Rooney and Neil Johnson, representing Croí are winners of the joint Galway Person of the Year award for 2007.

Only a very limited number of tickets, which are €100, are still available for the awards ceremony. Contact Ollie Robinson at Rehab Care Office, Unit 5B, Liosbán Business Park, Tuam Road, Galway on 091-756653 or 087-2437009 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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