It was a night of celebration and high emotion as Armagh I recognised some of the county’s most remarkable individuals.
The Armagh I People of the Year Awards culminated in an out of this world event at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium on Thursday evening.
The event, hosted by the brilliant Rebecca McKinney, saw 11 winners collect awards; but the stories from all those nominated resonated with the audience, who packed out the venue.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who got involved, from our event sponsors; all the staff at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium; our host, Rebecca McKinney; our musicians, Martin Rafferty and Conor Cunningham; our caterers Glaze and Roll; our photographer Vincent Loughran; David Capper; Elaine Lappin; and of course all our nominees and winners.
The winners in full were:
Good Neighbour Award (sponsored by Killeen Hardware)
Sue Bloomer and Joanne Hale
Inspirational Young Person (sponsored by Morgan McLernon)
Kerrie Finnegan
Sports Person of the Year (sponsored by McShane Packaging)
Donald Renaghan
Carer of the Year (sponsored by Sealmax Roofing)
Catriona Kelly
Community Impact Award (sponsored by Aonach Mhacha)
Maria O’Grady and Fidelma Fearon
Agri Champion (sponsored by Redrock Machinery)
Livingstone Family
Inspirational Educator of the Year (Sally McNally’s)
Andrew Glenny
Tourism & Hospitality Champion (J.D Hunter and Co.)
Donna Fox
Overcoming Adversity Award (Traynors)
Ryan Taylor
Emergency Services Hero of the Year (sponsored by The Mortgage Shop, Portadown)
Dr. Michael Burney
Special Recognition, Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by Sean Cavanagh and Co.)
Hugh Duggan
Host for the event, Cool FM’s Rebecca McKinney
Co-Ordinator for the evening, Elaine Lappin
Joanne Hale and Sue Bloomer with their good Neighbour Award, alongside David Hughes of Killeen Hardware
Caoimhe McKenna (Morgan McLernon) presents the Inspirational Young Person award to Kerrie Finnegan.
Donald Renaghan with the Sports Person of the Year award, present by Philippa McShane of McShane Packaging.
Catriona Kelly with her Carer of the Year award, presented by Mairead Holland on behalf of Sealmax Roofing
Fidelma Fearon and Maria O’Grady with the Community Impact Award, presented by Luíseach Ní Thréinfhir (Aonach Mhacha)
Andrew Glenny with the Inspirational Educator award, presented by Matthew Bird of Sally McNally’s
Armagh I Commercial Director, Rikki Thompson
Michael Burney picked up the Emergency Services Hero Award, presented by Professor Michael Burton on behalf of The Mortgage Shop Portadown and Banbridge
Ryan Taylor picks up the Overcoming Adversity Award, presented by Micheal McKenna on behalf of Traynors.
Donna Fox collecting her Tourism and Hospitality Champion award from Chris McClure of JD Hunter & Co Supermarket
Cedric Livingstone (Livingstone Family) picks up the Agri Champion Award from Sponsor Raymond Mullen (Redrock Machinery)
Lisa Duggan collections the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of her father Hugh from award sponsor Sean Cavanagh of Cavanagh and Co.
The Armagh I team (l-r): Kellie Gray, Mairead Holland, Micheal McKenna, Rikki Thompson and Conor Neeson.
Conor Cunningham and Martin Rafferty provided the entertainment for the evening
Wayne and his team at Glaze and Roll provided the food
Armagh i’s Rikki Thompson, Kellie Gray and Conor Neeson.