Community Award Recipients

The history of this Award, which was first presented in 1993, indicates two distinct goals:
1. To honour a person within the Irish community who has served in low-profile positions yet who has worked wholeheartedly for the good of the whole community.

2. To honour a Montrealer of Irish descent who has assumed a broader mandate to serve beyond the borders of our local Irish societies.  His/her achievements bring honour to us all and it is fitting that we acknowledge such commitment.

Below is the list of recipients since 1993:

1993 – Rev. Russell Breen, Pastor, St. Patrick’s Basilica (Restoration)

1994 – Joe Mell, Community Volunteer

1995 – Sr. Margaret Power, Educator and Sister of the Sacred Heart Community, Montreal

1996 – Charlotte Tansey, President and Founder, Thomas More Institute for Adult Education

1997 – Bernadette Short, Irish Dancing Teacher and International Adjudicator

1998 – Brian Gallery, Chair, Canadian Irish Studies Foundation

1999 – Rev. Tom McEntee, Pastor, St. Edmund of Canterbury, Beaconsfield

2000 – Audrey McKeown, Community Volunteer

2001 – Dr. Gus O’Gorman, Founder, Montreal Irish Language Study Circle

2002 – Mary McDaid, Community Volunteer

2003 – David Hannaford, Past-President, Irish Protestant Benevolent Society

2004 – Sr. Maura McGrath, CND; Founder and Director of Refuge Juan Moreno

2005 – Brian O’Neill, Past-President, St. Patrick’s Society; Former Executive Vice President, NHL

2006 – Patrick Rourke, Pillars Trust; ESCC; CCS; Refuge Juan Moreno

2007 – Lynn Doyle, Past-President, St. Patrick’s Society; President, Ciné Gael Montreal

2008 – Marianna O’Gallagher, Historian of Grosse Ile and Irish Quebec

2009 – Michael Kenneally, Founder, School of Canadian Irish Studies

2010 – Margaret Healy, Community Volunteer

2011 – Mabel Ann Fitzgerald, Community Volunteer

2012 – Fergus V. Keyes, Community Volunteer

2013 – Martin Murphy, ESCC Executive Director and Community Volunteer

2014 – Leo Delaney, Chairman, Jeanie Johnston Educational Foundation

2015 – Jimmy Heaslip, MIRFC co-founder

2016 – Andrew W. Fogarty, Past-President, St. Patrick’s Society, Community Volunteer

2016 – Kenneth O’Donnell, Community Volunteer (posthumous)

2017 – Lisa Forget, Community Volunteer

2018 – Victor Boyle, National President, Ancient Order of Hibernians in Canada

2019 – Lori Morrison, Community Volunteer

2020 – Peter O’Brien, Founding Chair, Canadian Irish Studies Foundation

2021 – James Acker, Founder, rugbysoupe.com

2022 – Tim Furlong, Former president, Erin Sports Association

2023 – Paul Loftus, Community Volunteer

2024 – Joseph Quinn, Community Volunteer