Parliamentary reception for volunteers of railway

Parliamentary reception for volunteers of railway

27 November 2024

AWARD-WINNING volunteers from the Downpatrick and Co Down Railway were in London last week to attend a parliamentary reception for heritage rail. 

Taking part were recently-crowned Social Enterprise Northern Ireland award winners Morgan Young, railway chairman Robert Gardiner and Jonathan King, who earlier this year was crowned the Lord Richard Faulkner Young Volunteer of the Year at the Heritage Railway Association’s annual awards.

The Westminster event was hosted by the co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail, Lord Faulkner and Liz Saville-Roberts MP.

They were joined by a host of MPs and peers including Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick and Strangford MP Jim Shannon.

The local railway volunteers were congratulated on their recent success, but the event also provided them with a fantastic opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest and make useful connections within the sector.

At the recent  Social Enterprise NI Awards Morgan was crowned as the emerging leader of the year, while the highly acclaimed heritage railway was named social enterprise of the year.

The awards ceremony took place just over a year after the railway’s Market Street base was under several feet of water following the worst flood in living memory.

Officials were left with an estimated repair bill of several million pounds but, remarkably, the railway has reopened and is steaming ahead towards its traditionally busy period in the run up to Christmas.

Railway volunteers and officials were ecstatic about their success at the prestigious awards night with Morgan and the railway facing some pretty stiff competition in their respective categories.

Morgan was up against very impressive nominees from groups such as Aspire NI, which supports media creativity around the Coleraine area, and Farset Labs, which operates a workshop to encourage technological learning and creativity. 

But his exceptional résumé as an emerging leader within the heritage railway impressed the judges and it came as a surprise to no-one on the local team when he came out on top. 

Officials say Morgan has been volunteering since his early teens and his work both as a volunteer and a leader is “too significant to put into words”.

Mr Gardiner who narrowly missed out on an award himself, said winning the social enterprise of the year title is a “huge endorsement” of the work everyone has done and the charity’s impact in the community.