A BUSY mum-of-four who dedicates much of her spare time to volunteer work with a soccer club of which her uncle was a founder member has been honoured for her remarkable dedication.
Lara O’Brien has been presented with the Monica Harrington Cup which is dedicated to the memory of the late wife of Don Harrington, another founder member of Killarney Athletic FC.
Lara, from Killarney, played at under 14 level for Athletic but moved to Australia for seven and a half years where she coached underage teams and played with Mosman United.
Since her return home she has freely given of her time and talents to Athletic, helping to coach the under 13 boys who won the league title.
Lara also coached the under 14B side and the eight to 10-year-old girls and will continue in these roles for the coming season.
Dedicated Lara’a uncle, Kieran O’Brien, was a founder member of the club and her grandfather, Charlie O’Brien, gave the club use of his land to play on in the early years.
She is married to Shane and their four children, David, Lauren, Millie and Eirn, all play with the blues.
“Lara has many attributes aside from being a great coach. She is very passionate, kind, approachable and most importantly loved by all the kids,” said club official Geraldine Nagle.
“No task is ever too big for Lara and she is always eager to lend a helping hand, whenever needed,” she added.
“It is with great pleasure that we the committee of Killarney Athletic have chosen Lara as this year’s recipient of the Monica Harrington Memorial Cup, as a reflection of her ever increasing dedication and enthusiasm”.
The trophy was presented to Lara by Don Harrington who was a 19-year-old garda, based in Killarney, when he helped set up the club in 1965.
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