The cream of Galway rose to the top as 2025’s People of the Year were honoured at the weekend at a Gala Banquet attended by over 550 family members, friends and supporters in the Galway Bay Hotel.

It was a special night for organisers Ollie Robinson too as this marked the 30th iteration of the Awards.

Galway camogie’s All-Ireland heroes Carrie Dolan, Ailish O’Reilly and Aoife Donohue were honoured for their contribution to Galway camogie and their success as role models for Galway youth.

The Cairdeas Disco Volunteers Lackagh – a team of dedicated volunteers for over 20 years supporting people with additional needs – received their Award, as did Row to Recovery, a volunteer-led charity supporting people who have experienced cancer to regain physical strength and emotional wellbeing, through the shared rhythm of rowing.

John Sullivan from Gort was honoured for his contribution to the local community and Gort Cancer Support. Hubert Geoghegan is a community activist in Ardrahan for over 50 years and has also raised thousands of euro for charity.

Mary and Malachy Booth have organised tea parties in their own home in Clarenbridge for the past ten years for charity and they have travelled to make that money work in Malawi.

Oranmore’s Louie Casserly was honoured for her voluntary contribution to Galway Hospice, Civil Defence, Claddagh Credit Union. Roscam swimmer John Shortt was recognised for winning two gold and a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship. Donal Lynch was honoured for his contribution to the Ballybane community, including setting up a Community Hub and a Youth Shed.

Lorcan Mannion has made a lasting contribution to his local community in Bushy Park and Rahoon – including St Michaels GAA, Bushy Park Choir, HopeSpace, drama and much more.

Dunmore-born and New York-based Jimmy Glynn has been central to fostering community spirit among Irish immigrants and has given so much back to Galway even though living thousands of miles away.

Ann Mitchell has been involved for all her adult life in the local community in Menlough.

Lawrencetown native John Pardy co-founded the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust in 1980 – and four years later, the Irish people had contributed a million pounds to the trust as the first transplant here was successfully caried out in St James Hospital in Dublin.

A special presentation was also made to Keith Finnegan, Mary Bennett and Jack McCann for their contribution and support for the past 20 years.

Caption: Galway camogie stars Ailish O’Reilly, Carrie Dolan and Aoife Donohue and their People of the Year Awards with Awards partner Basil Holian.

Meet all the winners over two pages in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.