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Ireland\u2019s 2026 Heritage Hero award was presented to Athlone\u2019s Gear\u00f3id O\u2019Brien by Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council.<\/p>\n
\n Published:
\n Tue 27 Oct 2026, 12:38 PM\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated:
\n Tue 27 Oct 2026, 1:00 PM\n <\/p>\n
Athlone historian, writer and broadcaster Gear\u00f3id O\u2019Brien has been named as Ireland’s 2026 Heritage Hero, ahead of the annual National Heritage Week Awards ceremony this Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Heritage Hero award, presented by The Heritage Council, recognises an individual or organisation that has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to the protection and promotion of Ireland\u2019s heritage.<\/p>\n
Based solely on public nominations, it is regarded as a lifetime achievement award.<\/p>\n
An initiative of the Heritage Council, this year\u2019s National Heritage Week took place under the theme \u2018Heritage at Risk\u2019. It featured the largest programme in the event\u2019s history with over 2,600 events taking place nationwide.<\/p>\n
During National Heritage Week 2026, Gear\u00f3id O’Brien led guided tours of Athlone\u2019s last remaining Napoleonic gun batteries and the medieval town walls of Athlone.<\/p>\n
He took part in an afternoon of poetry, and wrote a play called What\u2019s This Heritage Malarkey?, which was staged by members of the Connaught Street and Environs Community Group at Connaught Gardens.<\/p>\n
Gear\u00f3id has championed Athlone\u2019s heritage for more than 50 years, spending his professional life as Senior Executive Librarian with responsibility for the Aidan Heavey Library in Athlone until his retirement in 2018.<\/p>\n
Upon his retirement, the Westmeath Independent reported that he had \u201cleft an indelible mark on public service, local history and culture, and the accumulated knowledge of his beloved hometown\u201d.<\/p>\n
His commitment to protecting the town\u2019s heritage began while he was still at secondary school in the early 1970s, when he joined a campaign to preserve the Athlone Canal and the Thomas Omer Bridge.<\/p>\n
More than half a century later, he remains a dedicated advocate for the canal and a prominent member of the Canal Heritage Group.<\/p>\n
Gear\u00f3id has contributed to numerous historical and heritage organisations in Athlone, including the Connaught Street and Environs Community Group, the Old Athlone Society and the Athlone Number 1 Gun Battery project.<\/p>\n
His donation of the Brendan O\u2019Brien Collection, which focuses on the All-Ireland Drama Festival, to TUS Archives & Special Collections has helped preserve an important part of Ireland\u2019s cultural history.<\/p>\n
Gear\u00f3id writes Athlone Miscellany, the longest-running history column (36 years) in any regional newspaper in Ireland, for the Westmeath Independent. He has also contributed to Athlone Community Radio, where he presented Street Wise, a series exploring the historical geography of regional roads and structures.<\/p>\n
An accomplished poet, writer and broadcaster, Gear\u00f3id\u2019s work has appeared in Irish and international literary publications. He won the Desmond O\u2019Grady International Poetry Competition in 2013 and the Hanna Greally Literary Award for Poetry in 2015.<\/p>\n
Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, said: \u201cGear\u00f3id O\u2019Brien is a deserving recipient. He has combined a deep and varied local knowledge of heritage with a remarkable ability to communicate with and energise others through his writing and other creative endeavours.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis commitment to Athlone is inspirational and demonstrates how one person\u2019s passion can galvanise community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gear\u00f3id O\u2019Brien, recipient of the 2026 Heritage Hero Award, said: \u201cI was overwhelmed by the news of my selection.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy interest in heritage and local history has grown steadily over the past 60 years and I\u2019m still genuinely excited about the prospect of new research and the ever-growing availability of online resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there is an onus on us all as citizens to be aware of the importance of our heritage: be it natural heritage, the built environment or the lore and traditions of our local areas. Such an awareness enriches our lives immeasurably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congratulating Mr O’Brien on his award, Christopher O\u2019Sullivan, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity said: “Gear\u00f3id O\u2019Brien represents the very best of Ireland\u2019s heritage community. For more than 50 years, he has worked with knowledge and generosity to protect Athlone\u2019s heritage and bring its stories to life.<\/p>\n
“From his earliest campaigns to his storied writing career, he has helped generations understand that heritage is something living and worth safeguarding.<\/p>\n
“At a time when so much of our heritage is at risk, his example and great work at a local and national level shows the difference one committed person can make,” the Minister of State added.<\/p>\n