Daráine is the People s Choice

Transcription

1 18 Rehabnews Rehab People of Daráine is the People s Choice Dublin teenager Daráine Mulvihill captured the hearts of the nation as the responsibility for choosing the overall winner at the ESB/Rehab People of the Year Awards was handed over to the Irish public for the very first time. Thousands of viewers jammed the lines set up for a special telephone poll to decide who would become the Irish Person of the Year before Daráine emphatically emerged as the people s champion ahead of the country s most inspirational figures of A massive audience up considerably on last year tuned in for the live broadcast of the Awards which were presented by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, at the City West Hotel and Country Club. RTE s Mary Kennedy hosted the TV broadcast of the event. Turlough O Sullivan, IBEC and Angela Kerins, Rehab s Director of Group Development and chief executive of RehabCare

2 Rehabnews 19 the Year Awards Relaxed and casual before the big occasion were the People of the Year winners: left Kathryn Sinnott, Sorcha McKenna, Fr. J Linus Ryan, Daráine Mulvihill, the overall winner, and Tony Paget. Pic: Maxwells Russian ambassador Evgueni Mikhailov and Valerie Corley, Rehab head office An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern with trainer Aidan O Brien In addition to six domestic award winners, a special International Award was presented to US ambassador Richard Egan on behalf of the late Father Mychal Judge and the New York Rescue Services for their bravery and devotion to duty in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11. Brothers Paul and Pete McCormack, originally from Ballybofey in County Donegal and who are now officers in the New York Police Department, represented the rescue services, along with their cousin, Gerry O Riordan from the city s fire department. All three gave harrowing accounts of their work at Ground Zero following the outrage. Before being voted the overall winner by TV viewers, Daráine received the Irish Continued Next Page

3 20 Rehabnews Rehab People of Phil Hogan TD and Kate De Witt Frances Lennon and Treasa Mallon Young Person of the Year Award for her extraordinary courage after being left so seriously ill when she developed a virulent form of meningitis in 1999 that she was not expected to survive. Despite losing both her legs just below the knee and all of her fingers as a result of the illness, the 18 year old has now returned to studying for her Leaving Cert. She received her award for what the adjudicators described as her incredibly positive attitude, for the inspiration she has provided to all those who meet her and for her courage and determination throughout her illness. The other award winners were: Fr. Linus Ryan masterminded what has been described as the greatest mass movement of Irish people in the history of the country when he instigated the visit Rehab Scotland chairman Eric Taylor OBE and Linda Fisher

4 Rehabnews 21 the Year Awards Left: Gerry O Donovan of the New York Fire Department; Frank Flannery, chief executive Rehab Group; Tadhg O Donoghue, chairman of ESB; and Captain Paul McCormack of the New York Police Department Pat Hickey and Jane Forman, Head of Programmes and Business Development, NTDI Nuala and Major General Jim Sreenan with Helen Doyle of the relics of St Therese to Ireland earlier this year. An estimated three million people, North and South, visited the relics on the 78-day trip. Kathryn Sinnott was honoured for her tireless campaign to secure appropriate education and therapy for her autistic son Jamie. As a result of her efforts, a number of improvements have already been made in the provision of education to autistic children a Taskforce on Autism has been established and the number of special classes and special assistants available to autistic children have increased. Sorcha McKenna received her award after lobbying the Government for tougher sentences for sex offenders following her own abuse ordeal at the hands of her father. Just 19 years old, Sorcha Continued Next Page

5 22 Rehabnews Rehab People of TV3 Head of News and People of the Year adjudicator, Andrew Hanlon with his wife, Liz Allen Martin Kavanagh and Mary McSweeney, Dublin Corporation undertook this arduous campaign while continuing her law studies at University. At the age of just 32 Aidan O Brien is already a racing legend in the making, having landed an extraordinary 23 Group One wins during the 2001 flat season alone. These include Galileo s achievement of claiming both the English and Irish Derbys, along with success in the Breeder s Cup meeting in the US. His award was presented for what was described as his outstanding success on behalf of racing and Irish sport in general. Last winter Tony Paget witnessed a horrific accident at Butt Bridge in Dublin when a Bus Eireann bus crashed through the wall and plunged into the River Liffey. Realising the danger, he jumped into the freezing water and pulled the unconscious Hilary Ní Aogáin, Helen and Claire Ní Chionnaith

6 Rehabnews 23 the Year Awards Left: Racehorse trainer Aidan O Brien chatting with Father Linus Ryan (right). Pic: Maxwells Gene Lambert and Kathy Irwin Paul Cunningham and Sharon Bell Fiadhnait Brady, Sarah Leader and Maud Ní Riordáin driver out of his submerged cab before lifting him to safety with the help of a fellow rescuer. Tony is homeless and after his act of heroism returned to the streets in his wet and cold clothes. His act of courage was made even more significant given that two of his brothers drowned in the Liffey some years ago. The winners were chosen by an adjudicating panel of national and regional newspaper editors in both North and South, along with broadcasting chiefs from RTE, TV 3 and BBC Northern Ireland from hundreds of nominations submitted by the general public, local authorities, community groups and voluntary organisations on both sides of the border.