A VIBRANT community has honoured one of its own for the enormous contribution he has made to life in the parish.
The Stephen Lawlor Community Award was presented in Milltown to Owen O’Shea at a surprise ceremony in The Plough Bar at the weekend.
For a man always impeccably prepared for everything he’s involved in, it was unusual to see Owen caught by surprise and almost at a loss for words.
Master of ceremonies, Maurice Harmon, and Milltown Chamber Alliance’s Cultural Officer, Vincent Prendergast, outlined Owen’s lifetime of volunteerism with many groups, including the local credit union, Comhaltas Ceolteori Éireann and in parish and political life and noted how his vision and leadership inspired many community projects.
Owen, who is communications officer with Kerry County Council, chaired the 2018 County Fleadh Cheoil, injecting energy and variety into a local festival of traditional music and family entertainment.
Owen paid tribute to Stephen Lawlor, who passed away in 2013 and after whom the award is named, who he described as the epitome of community spirit and volunteerism.
“He was an exemplary community member, working hard with various local groups including the Tidy Towns and Comhaltas,” he said.
He also thanked Stephen’s mother, Ann Lawlor, who provided the perpetual trophy and travelled from her home in Longford to present the award. Owen joins previous recipients, local volunteers Willie Hanafin, Denis O’Mahony and Tom Hanafin, in the Milltown roll of honour.
Owen also thanked his wife, Cecelia, for her support, recognising her own voluntary work as treasurer for the 2018 Fleadh that saw her head up a team that raised the €70,000 to host the event and provide over €12,000 worth of free entertainment in Milltown. He also remembered the late Denis Courtney, who worked tirelessly for the community and he said it was his mission to organise “one hell of a Fleadh” in Denis’s memory.
As well as his voluntary and professional commitments, Owen is also the author of several books, the latest of which is A Century of Politics in the Kingdom: A County Kerry Compendium, co-written with Gordon Revington, will go on sale this month.
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