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Two sisters from Silverbridge who in just 11 months helped raise £120,000 and got a play park built in memory of their brother, have won the County Armagh Person of the Year title, at a glitzy awards night held by the Cordelias Foundation in the Armagh City Hotel at the weekend.
Ashling Martin and Majella Murphy were the worthy recipients of the overall award on a night when many inspirational local people were celebrated. Twelve finalists in total received awards in acknowledgement of their nominations.
Following the tragic death of their brother James Reel, the sister's decided to build a playpark in Silverbridge in his memory, to give something back to the local community that had been so supportive of them. They began their fundraiser under the name Time2Play and The James Reel Play Park opened earlier this month, an incredible example of what can be achieved when a small number of determined people get together.
Silverbridge GAA offered the group a site initially but the sisters quickly discovered that no funding, no grants or help of any kind from official sources would be forthcoming to them. Undeterred Time2Play fronted by Aishling and Majella set off on a journey which saw the first sod turned in May 2022 and the James Reel playpark officially opened on November 6 2022, a truly remarkable achievement.
Special guest was Niamh Noade from Lislea, the Girl with the Harp . Finalist Jack Maher a confident 11 year old also gave an impromptu performance of the Oasis classic Wonderwall on a borrowed guitar. Judges on the night included Rita Shah, Shabra Plastics; Brian Ruddin, Cordelias Foundation; Clint Aiken, Ulster Gazette and Columba O'Hare, Newry.ie.
The Cordelias Foundation source hot food and deliver it free of charge to the homeless, recently bereaved families and the needy within a 10 mile radius of Armagh City. The event was sponsored by Cordelias Takeaway Armagh and Shabra Plastic and Recycling.
The Twelve Finalists who received Awards
HGV Driver Paudy Smith from Camlough has raised over £120k to date for local causes with Keep Er Lit
Youth worker Rachel Mc Parland, transformed Epicentre Armagh with scores of young people flooding back to the facility to partake in various activities and also has found time to win a league title for her GAA ladies team.
Ita Gibney and Niall Murray are two volunteers that run Newtown Community Centre, providing a working space for the whole community and a wide range of activities that help unite people throughout the area.
Aidan O’Rourke has been part of Drumintee Gaelic Athletic Association for many years, which paved the way for him onto the county panel. A member of the 2002 Armagh All Ireland winning team he now is coach of Donegal.
As proprietor of Sunnymead Residential home, Linda Nesbitt has given over 20 years of her life to the care of numerous people from county Armagh and beyond.
Cora McLoughlin is the youngest of 11 siblings. In early summer of 2022 two of her sisters became seriously ill. Since then, the level of care and devotion that she has shown to them is second to none.
Jack Maher is undoubtably one of the stars of the future and an inspiration to all young people throughout the island of Ireland. A talented musician, singer and sportsperson he sat his Math’s GSCE in 2022 and, at the tender age of 11 years, received an A*.
Gerard Greene, a retired bricklayer from Craigavon, like most men of his age was reluctant to visit doctors or anything to do with medical check-ups. Following persistent nagging from his family he eventually decided to go for a check-up and, to his shock, he discovered he had cancer. Following a successful course of treatment, he decided to go public with his story and, as the local voice of the Cancer Awareness Campaign, his bravery about sharing his own story has undoubtably saved the lives of other people.
Primary School Teacher Rebecca Collings is an extraordinary mum. She is/was a single mum, a bereaved mum, a step-mum, a foster mum, a working mum and a special needs mum, (Rebecca’s youngest child, Carys, was born in 2020 with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus) who has gone through most of her life without her own mum.
Alivia, Myia, Tom and Harry Wilson love the great outdoors. As part of the Eco Aware Club, they have taken a keen interest in the environment, wherever they go. In previous years, during their many trips to Cranfield beach, they became part of the clean up morning on the beach. However, this year it was their daily cycle and scooter rides to the Mall in Armagh, that highlighted the care and understanding they have for the environment.
Louise Skeath is Chief Executive of family business SDG, a specialist supplier of essential products to the construction industry across NI, Ireland & UK. In September 2015, Louise joined the family business which was created in 1990 by Seamus Duffy. Louise took over as CEO in 2019 and since then has saw it become a worldwide company with sales as far away as Dubai. She was awarded Director of the Year, SME Business at the 2021 Institute of Directors Northern Ireland (IoD NI) Director of the Year Awards. During her time as CEO, SDG has raised substantial amounts for a number of local charities.
