McAuley Place, Naas, wins top award
At the annual Pride of Place Awards Ceremony on Saturday (26 November), McAuley Place, Naas, Co Kildare was presented with one of the top awards in the Competition. It took top place in category six, which is for Age Friendly Community Initiatives.
Remarking on McAuley Place, the judges said “This is a unique and heart-warming entry in the Age Friendly category. What has been created here in this non-profit organisation is an intergenerational and creative model of living for older people. Consisting of apartments, a community centre, an arts and cultural centre, a profit making tea room and a volunteer hub, it promotes a lifestyle for the elderly that is truly inclusive within the locality”.
The winners of the Pride of Place awards, known affectionately by many as the ‘Community Oscars’, were announced at the special gala event in Belfast Waterfront Hall in front of an audience of approximately 1000 guests and VIPs with many more people tuning in on-line to watch the live broadcast of the ceremony.
Now in its 14th year, the all-island Pride of Place Awards promotes and celebrates the best in community development and recognises the selfless efforts of people in making their neighbourhoods better places to live, work and socialise. This year, a broad spectrum of groups were nominated, ranging from small rural communities to inner city housing estates.
The Pride of Place Awards are divided into three awards sections – the main, the cities and the special awards and during the evening a total of 53 awards were announced by TV personality Claire McCollum. The awards ceremony was hosted by Belfast City Council, with the Belfast School of Music, Streetwise Community Circus, Belfast Community Gospel Choir and The James Peak Experience providing the entertainment.
