FORMER TD AND SENATOR IS HONOURED FOR DECADES OF VOLUNTEER WORK IN LOCAL COMMUNITY
- Online Journalist
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
Former TD and Senator, Barry Cogan has been celebrated for his dedication to Carrigaline, where he has been a committed volunteer for many decades. The founding member of Carrigaline Community Association is the latest recipient of a Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Award.
The Awards are given to people who give unwavering support to their local community and volunteer their time for the benefit of others.
Mr Cogan has worked with Carrigaline Tidy Towns, Carrigaline Men’s Shed, Parish Committees and Cork and South East GAA.
During his time in politics, Mr Cogan helped deliver industrial sites for the town where hundreds of jobs have been created as a result of these efforts. He led the charge to establish a Community School in Carrigaline along with a Gaelcholaiste.
A keen dancer, Mr Cogan has been dancing on the international stage since 1989 and helped form the Owenabue Valley Traditional Group (OVTG) in 1995. He also started a monthly Céilí Mór in Carrigaline GAA which ran for 18 years and helped run dance workshops with some of the best dancers in the business.
The OVTG was instrumental in bringing folk dance groups from across Europe, North Africa and North America to the Cork International Folk Dance Festival, which later became known as Damhsafest.
As well as volunteering with the different groups in Carrigaline, Mr Cogan was a correspondent for The Carrigdhoun and The Southern Star newspapers, and was in EU Leader, Community Games, Cork Harbour Commissioners (now Port of Cork), Cork Kerry Tourism, Owenabue Valley Tourism Group, South Cork Enterprise Board and the Red Cross.
Describing himself as a proud Carrigaline man, in what was once a one street village that had only a four roomed national school, a chapel and pottery was its main employer, Mr Cogan said: “We have a very peaceful community here. We may have different faiths and backgrounds but we have one community.”
Vincent O’Donovan, Publisher of The Carrigdhoun Newspaper was delighted to present Mr Cogan with the award, saying “Barry is the heart and soul of the Carrigaline community for decades. He has had a great connection with The Carrigdhoun Newspaper since it launched in 1991, and contributes bi-monthly community notes featuring a range of organisations and events.”
General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Eoghan Murphy said: “Barry Cogan has played a vital and important role in so many different parts of the Carrigaline community for many years and he continues to dedicate his time to his local area. We are delighted to be able to present him with a Community Spirit Award and give him a special recognition for his work which has improved the lives of so many people in the town and surrounding areas.”
The judging panel for the Community Spirit Awards is made up of a mixture of representatives from the public and private sector within the community.
Nominations for the Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards are open at: https://www.corkinternationalairporthotel.com/community-spirit-awards/
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