Blarney poised to name 2025 local champion

Excitement is growing for the announcement of the 2025 Blarney and District Person of the Year who will be revealed this weekend.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Castle Hotel in Blarney on Saturday in front of more than 150 guests.

The annual awards were established to recognise achievement, leadership, and altruism in community, sport, business, arts, family or from any sector or activity in the local community. They are organised by local businesswoman Kate Durrant, solicitor John Henchion, and Cllr Damian Boylan.

“With so many worthy monthly winners during 2025, our panel of judges have, once again, a particularly difficult task on their hands to choose an overall winner,” said Ms Durrant.

The nominees for the award this year include Tom O’Byrne, also known as the Father of the Fen; Grenagh powerhouse Bronagh Green; Brendan Murphy for his work with Blarney Meals on Wheels; Frances and Niamh Byrne, in recognition of their outstanding dedication to the promotion of wellbeing through physical activity; celebrated singer and musician Anna Mitchell who established Blarney Community Choir; local teacher and farmer Aileen Sheehan who made history when she became the first female to win Ireland’s Young Farmer of the Year award; elite endurance runner Brian Mullins; all round charity champion Deirdre Hourihan Healy; Michael Kiely, who won gold in the over 80s 800m at the World Masters Indoor Championships; Joan O’Mahony and Julie Fitzgerald for their charity fundraising; and Helena Horgan for her devotion to the children of the area for the last 27 years through her work in Shournagh Childcare.

Commenting on the nominees, Cllr Boylan said that while they come from a range of backgrounds, they all have one thing in common.

“Through their lives and achievements, each and every one of them have excelled in their own special way. In that regard, they are all winners,” he said.

The winner of last year’s Blarney and District Person of the Year award was heroic Garda Timothy McSweeney, with John Mitchell and Bernice O’Brien being inducted into the Hall of Fame for their work building schools and providing thousands of educational scholarships in Africa.