GAA Volunteer Award for stalwart Damien

GAA Volunteer Award for stalwart Damien

1 June 2016

TECONNAUGHT GAC’s Damian Bell recently picked up a prestigious Irish News GAA Club and Volunteer Award at a ceremony held at the Wellington Park Hotel.

The award was in recognition of Damian’s tremendous voluntary contribution to Teconnaught and the Crossgar community generally. Damian has been at the forefront of so many of the club’s achievements and plans in recent years. 

The selection panel were particularly impressed and complimentary about Damian’s initiative in creating an U-12 Gaelic competition within the Crossgar Community Festival and his ongoing work to provide Gaelic games after schools’ clubs to St Joseph’s Primary School and Cedar Integrated Primary School in the town. 

Holding the dual mandate of school liaison officer and club PRO, Damian has also been instrumental in highlighting and publicising the club’s five year development plan and blossoming youth structures. 

He is effectively a permanent fixture at the Rann Road premises as he ensures equality of media coverage for the various football teams and cultural members of the club as well. 

A selector on the 2013 Junior Championship-winning team, his biggest challenges lie in the weeks and months to come as the club hosts its inaugural country music festival over the weekend of June 17-19.

While the award is a great personal achievement for Damian, he is the first to admit that he is only one of many GAA volunteers who are investing selflessly in their communities in a similar fashion. 

However, the fact that this award was on the back of a nomination from a parent from the juvenile section makes it all the more special. 

It is a great accolade for the club as well as it seeks to fully implement the five year development plan established in 2015, the pinnacle of which will hopefully be a new club and community rooms at its Rann Road base.