DEDICATED SPORTS COACH RECEIVES COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD

 

A volunteer who dedicated a life-time of service to working with athletes in Cork has been honoured with the latest Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Award. John Calnan played a part in the sporting lives of several Olympic athletes including Derval O’Rourke, Lizzie Lee and coach Donnie Walsh.

 

John was an active member of Leevale AC and Hilltown for 30 years, serving as a committee member and volunteer at Leevale where he worked with some of Cork’s finest athletes.

 

A resident of Carrigaline, John took up pitch and putt in 1996 and quickly rose through the ranks to win many tournaments across Cork County.  He has given years as a committee member, volunteer and player at Raffeen Creek Pitch & Putt where he helped young players to learn the game and compete.

 

He saw several All-Ireland Champions emerge from the juvenile ranks including Chris O’Sullivan and Shane Murphy.

 

General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Eoghan Murphy said; “Cork has produced some of the country’s best athletes and given us some exciting Olympic memories that we as a county can be extremely proud of.  Many of these athletes have come through local clubs which wouldn’t be what they are without the dedication of committee members who volunteer so much of their time to supporting and helping young athletes to achieve their goals.  John Calnan is one of these people and I am delighted to honour him with a Community Spirit Award for his years of service to both athletics and pitch and putt.”

 

The Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards are sponsored by The Carrigdhoun Newspaper and Gerald McCarthy Giftware.

 

The judging panel for the Community Spirit Awards are made up of a mixture of representatives from the public and private sector within the community.

 

The judging panel for this award was:

• Carmel Lonergan, Group Director of Operations, Trigon Hotels
• Nicola Radley, Senior Executive Officer, Municipal District Operations & Rural Development at Cork County Council
• Vincent O’Donovan, Publisher of The Carrigdhoun Newspaper

 

Nominations are now open for next month’s awards at: https://www.corkinternationalairporthotel.com/community-spirit-awards/ .