Ladies Gaelic Football Association has announced the 2023 Glenveagh Homes LGFA Volunteer of the Year award winners.
And a Laois man is among the winners – Mountmellick native Michael O’Loughlin.
O’Loughlin poured his heart and soul into the Ladies game for decades with both his county and his club Sarsfields.
Michael has been involved with the Sarsfields club since its beginnings in 1995.
The club won three Leinster Senior titles during Michael’s tenure as club secretary, which spanned a quarter of a century.
Michael has also served as Laois county board secretary and provincial delegate for many years and is known throughout the province as a leader in the development of Ladies Football.
The Overall Volunteer of the Year, Margaret Buckley, from the St Vals club in Cork, will receive the Lulu Carroll award, named after the late Lulu Carroll, who was a 2001 All-Ireland senior medallist with Laois.
Lulu, who passed away in 2007, was a committed servant to Ladies Football at club and county levels, and one of the game’s most popular and well-known figures.
Lulu, a former All-Star recipient, also won eight Leinster titles with Laois, along with six county senior titles and a provincial crown at club level with Timahoe.
The 2023 Glenveagh Homes LGFA National Volunteer of the Year award winners will gather at Croke Park on Friday, February 9, for a very special evening to celebrate their outstanding achievements.
The LGFA National Volunteer of the Year awards scheme is now in its seventh year and the 2023 winners are as follows:
- Young Volunteer of the Year – Dúana Coleman (Pádraig Sairseil, Co. Antrim)
- PRO of the Year – Siobhan McCloskey (Emyvale, Co. Monaghan)
- Local Journalist of the Year – Daragh Nolan (Leinster Leader)
- School Coach of the Year – Sean Costello (Dominican College, Griffith Avenue, Dublin)
- Club Coach of the Year – Aine Reilly (Convoy, Co. Donegal)
- Club Committee Officer of the Year – Deirdre Colgan (St. Margaret’s, Co. Dublin)
- County/Provincial Committee Officer of the Year – Lisa Walsh (Co. Cork)
- International Volunteer of the Year – Pat Doab (Celtic Cowboys, Austin, Texas, USA)
- Volunteer Hall of Fame – Michael O’Loughlin, (Mountmellick Sarsfields, Co. Laois)
- Overall Volunteer of the Year (Lulu Carroll award) – Margaret Buckley (St. Valentines, Co. Cork)
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