{"id":560255,"date":"2026-07-21T06:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/560255\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:02:29","slug":"picture-special-donegal-volunteer-centre-awards-celebrate-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/560255\/","title":{"rendered":"Picture special: Donegal Volunteer Centre Awards celebrate community"},"content":{"rendered":"

A record number of\u00a0volunteers and\u00a0community\u00a0organisations in Donegal\u00a0were recognised\u00a0on\u00a0Thursday, July 16th\u00a0for\u00a0their dedication to volunteering and the impact\u00a0their work has on local communities.<\/p>\n

The Donegal Volunteer Centre, managed by Donegal Local Development CLG (DLDC), hosted its annual awards\u00a0ceremony\u00a0at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Letterkenny, celebrating the spirit of volunteers\u00a0who make a real difference in communities across the county.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s awards\u00a0attracted the highest number of nominations ever received, reflecting the depth and breadth of volunteering across the county.<\/p>\n

The\u202f2026\u00a0Volunteer Individual Recognition Award\u202frecognised the outstanding efforts of\u00a057\u00a0volunteers\u00a0who give their time, energy, and passion to support others\u00a0across Donegal.<\/p>\n

The\u202fVolunteer Project Award honoured ongoing or recently completed\u00a0projects that\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0originality and innovation, strong community impact, and meaningful volunteer involvement.<\/p>\n

From 15 volunteer groups nominated, six winners were chosen by a judging panel.<\/p>\n

They were:
The Mill River Conservation Group, Buncrana<\/p>\n

Survivors Informing Services and Institutions, Glenties<\/p>\n

Gemma\u2019s Legacy of Hope<\/p>\n

Ukraine Voice in Donegal<\/p>\n

All in Club, Creeslough<\/p>\n

Arcade,\u00a0Dungloe<\/p>\n

Speaking at the ceremony, Eamonn Bonner, Manager of Donegal Volunteer Centre, said: \u201cThe work of volunteers often\u00a0flies under the radar.<\/p>\n

“Being\u00a0able to\u00a0bring\u00a0volunteers\u00a0together\u00a0to\u00a0celebrate their\u00a0contribution is incredibly important.<\/p>\n

“It’s an opportunity to\u00a0recognise\u00a0the generosity and kindness of volunteers right across Donegal\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0acknowledge\u00a0the\u00a0selfless work they do to help others and improve lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Donegal Volunteer Centre\u00a0thanks all who\u00a0submitted\u00a0nominations and congratulates the winners who were recognised on the night.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Seamus R\u00f3s Coiste Glan agus Glas Falcarragh pictured with Shane McBride DLDC and Donegal Volunteer Centre Volunteer Development Officer Ashling Vieira.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of CARA House. Front row (L-R) Elizabeth Gibbons, Dermot Lyster, Mary Hegarty, Elizabeth O’Donnell, back row (L-R) Shane McBride DLDC, Shannon Whelan Kongsted, Donegal Volunteer Centre and Ashling Vieira, Donegal Volunteer Centre.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yevis Gallagher, Green Pantry Society, ATU Donegal pictured with Donegal Volunteer Centre Volunteer Officers Shannon Whelan Kongsted and Ashling Vieira.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hazel Russell of Swilly Sisters Rathmullan pictured with DLDC Community Development Manager Martin McDevitt and Donegal Volunteer Centre Volunteer Development Officer Ashling Vieira.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jenny Vial of Survivors Informing Services and Institutions (SiSi) pictured with Donegal Volunteer Centre Volunteer, Volunteer Development Officer Shannon Whelan Kongsted and DLDC Community Development Manager, Martin McDevitt.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Caimah Nyathi 2026 Relay for Life, who received his Volunteer Recognition Award at the Donegal Volunteer Awards in the Raddison Hotel Letterkenny. Included in the photo are Shannon Whelan Kongsted, Volunteer Development and Olena Dmytriieva Community volunteer officer Donegal Volunteer Centre. Photo by Gerard McHugh Photography.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

David Sayers and Tommy McGinley of Dunfanaghy Youths FC pictured with Shane McBride, DLDC and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n You may also be interested in\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Party<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Safe<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gerry Breslin of Bundoran Community Centre, pictured with DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

William Saucedo, pictured with DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Majeilla O\u2019Kane of Raphoe Family Resource Centre pictured with DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan and Donegal Volunteer Centre Volunteer Development Officer Shannon Whelan Kongsted.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Noelle Smullen of The Railway Ramblers, Dunfanaghy pictured with DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan and DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Picture front row (L-R) Shazia Noureen, Syeda Tanveer Sultana, Sahla Khanam, Mahreen Mahreen, back row (L-R) DLDC Chairman Paul Hanningan, Mashal Ijaz, Shifa Khanam, Safa Khanam, Uzma Sajid and Donegal Volunteer Centre member Olena Dmytriieva.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Seamus McGranaghan of Quigley’s Point Community Centre pictured with Patricia Higgins, Inishowen Development Partnership and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of Mill River Conservation Group pictured with DLDC staff members Michaela Flanagan, Nuala Diver, Donegal Volunteer Centre Volunteer Officer Shannon Whelan Kongsted and Patricia Higgins, Inishowen Development Partnership.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of the All in Club pictured with DLDC staff members Nuala Diver and Viktoriia Hladyshenko and Donegal Volunteer Centre Manager Eamonn Bonner.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of the Letterkenny Autism Family Support Group pictured with members of the Donegal Volunteer Centre, Shannon Whelan Kongsted, Keelan Gildea and Olena Dmytriieva.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of Survivors Informing Services and Institutions (SiSi) pictured with DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of Gemma\u2019s Legacy of Hope Group, Dungloe pictured with DLDC staff member Viktoriia Hladyshenko, DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of the Arcade group, Dungloe pictured with Donegal Volunteer Centre Development Officer Ashling Vieira, DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan and DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Members of Donegal Giving pictured with DLDC Head of Operations Margaret Larkin and DLDC Chairman Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

DLDC Chairmain Paul Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Donegal Volunteer Centre Manager Eamonn Bonner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A record number of\u00a0volunteers and\u00a0community\u00a0organisations in Donegal\u00a0were recognised\u00a0on\u00a0Thursday, July 16th\u00a0for\u00a0their dedication to volunteering and the impact\u00a0their work has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-560255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}