A nun from Co Galway has won an award for her work helping Irish prisoners in the UK.
Sr Moira Keane, from the Sisters of Mercy who has been working with Irish prisoners in England and Wales as part of the Irish Chaplaincy for many years, is the 2019 winner of Irish in Britain's Individual Volunteer award.
Sr Keane volunteers here time with prison visits, advice, advocacy, suicide attempt prevention and giving support for distressed carers.
The national charity, Irish in Britain, set up the awards to celebrate the role volunteers play in delivering services to the Irish community.
A team of six women, all in their 80s, from the Lunch Club at the Southwark Irish Pensioners’ Project won the award for outstanding group of volunteers this year.
The nomination from the project praised the group for their energy and ability to “lift the spirits” of Lunch Club members.
The final award winner was Rose Morris, who is chair of the Irish Community Care Manchester (ICCM). Ms Morris won the Award for Trustee for her role in creating sound governance for the charity.
The ceremony recognising the volunteers will take place in the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith on June 27th.
Irish in Britain was established in 1973 and was intended to create a single national body “to share expertise, to represent, to campaign for and support the growth and well-being” of the Irish in Britain.
Brian Dalton, chief executive of the organisation, said the awards were created in 2018 to highlight the difference volunteers make in communities every day.
“We are proud to celebrate their contribution within diverse Irish organisations up and down Britain,” he said.
