Locals celebrate Gaisce awards

GAISCE – the President’s Award held one of its largest-ever Silver Award ceremonies to celebrate the achievements of 148 young people throughout Ireland. 

A total of 119 young people hailing from 29 Dublin schools were among those presented with their Silver Award at a ceremony at the O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin 1.

Gaisce – The President’s Award is a personal development programme for young people which enhances confidence and wellbeing through participation in personal, physical and community challenges.

Silver Awardees were celebrated for their commitment to personal development through community involvement, improving their personal skills and increasing their physical activity.

Each awardee successfully completed at least 26 weeks across these three Gaisce challenge areas and undertook a three-day adventure journey.

For their adventure journey, Silver Awardees completed either a 50km walk or a 190km cycle.

Speaking about the achievements of the Awardees, Yvonne McKenna, chief executive of Gaisce, said: “I heartily congratulate this evening’s awardees on their achievements. It’s fantastic to be honouring so many young people for their dedication to personal development, and I think it’s a testament to the tenacity of young people today that we have so many awardees.

“I hope they have made lasting memories and gained invaluable self-knowledge through their Gaisce journey.”

Ms McKenna added: “Completing a Silver Award has required a significant amount of dedication and effort from each of them.”