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Annalong based metalsmith Claire Mooney has won the Young Person of the Year award at the Northern Ireland Social Enterprise Awards 2023. Claire received the award for her volunteer work with rural Mourne based charitable social enterprise Moneydarragh Hub.
Claire was recognised by the award’s judging panel for her role at Moneydarragh Hub and her efforts in building the community centre’s organisational capacity, as well as increasing accessibility to arts activities in rural Mourne.
Since joining the Moneydarragh Hub committee in 2019, Claire has been a driving force at the community centre. In 2021 Claire established Moneydarragh Makers as an initiative to bring more creative opportunities to the area such as metalsmithing and ceramics workshops. In the past year Claire has been front and centre at Moneydarragh Hub as a young leader, helping to deliver creative wellbeing sessions, youth programmes, and the centre’s Warm Spaces programme.
The Northern Ireland Social Enterprise Awards is an annual awards show organised by Social Enterprise NI to recognise the achievements of social enterprises, their staff and stakeholders across Northern Ireland. The 2023 awards show which was hosted by BBC presenter Cate Conway brought over 600 people to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast.
Speaking on her accomplishment, Claire said “It's been a pleasure to be involved with Moneydarragh Hub and get to know the team. There's always opportunities to continue to develop the centre and work with the local community so I'm looking forward to seeing how the centre evolves.”
Moneydarragh Hub was also a finalist for two other awards on the night, the Rural Social Enterprise and the Best Use of Social Media categories.
Moneydarragh Hub is a community centre based between Annalong and Kilkeel which hosts a variety of workshops and events, and rents its space for the community to use for their own classes or functions.
Chairperson of Moneydarragh Hub, Margaret Rogers, was delighted to see Claire pick up the award. Speaking on behalf of the community centre, Margaret said “Such a well-deserved award for Claire, who has made a great impact on Moneydarragh Hub’s development. Her vision and ability to realise that vision has made the experiences we offer in Moneydarragh unique and very valuable to our personal and community wellbeing. We are delighted that Claire has been acknowledged – not only locally, but across Northern Ireland.”
Moneydarragh Hub has most recently finished its Grove of the Oaks Festival which was a collection of events focused on the environment and sustainability. The festival involved collaborations with notable environmental advocates such as Dara McAnulty and Colum Sands, as well as events with Walk the Mournes, Green Woodwork Ireland, and many other local businesses.
