Three Donegal winners to be honoured at National Garda Youth Awards

Three young Donegal men are to be honoured this coming weekend for their successful projects in this year's National Garda Youth Awards competition.

The winners first emerged at the Donegal Garda Youth Awards last September where they won local category sections before going on to pick up the big prizes.

Josh Marley from Lifford won the national award in the special achievement category for his life-saving efforts at Lifford Bridge on the night of August 27, 2021.

He managed to rescue a female who was in a very distressed state and without any consideration for his own safety.

He brought the woman to the river bank and emergency services were contacted.

His actions have been described as "selfless" and "courageous" by displaying great strength of character while managing to keep a level head in an emergency situation.

Inspector Sean Grant presenting Allan McCarron and Cormac Brady (Mulroy College) with the Community Safety Award at the Garda Youth Awards in Lifford in September. Included are Cllr Gerry McMonagle, John McLaughin (CEO, Donegal County Council) and Judge Eiteain Cunningham. (NW Newspix)

Alan McCarron and Cormac Bradley picked up the national award in the community safety category.

The boys took part in a Youth Leadership initiative between February and September 2021. As part of this they completed a leadership community action project.

They decided to collaborate with the Letterkenny Fire Service and set about visiting the elderly in the Termon-Kilmacrennan areas to check and install fire alarms. They acquired boxes of alarms from the service and distributed them to the homes of the elderly. They also checked existing alarms and were shocked to discover that many alarms were rarely checked or had old batteries.

They replaced batteries in the alarms that needed them, collected information from the homes they visited, and subsequently passed this on to Letterkenny Fire Service to be stored in their database so a return visit can be arranged in two years' time. This provided great comfort to the residents of the houses they visited

They also distributed leaflets at the houses they called to in an effort to raise awareness about Carbon Monoxide poisoning and alarms. They also handed out information posters to shops in the area to inform the community that they were calling to homes and to reassure them of the reason for the their visit.

They carried out fire safety leaflet drops at schools, churches, and bingo centres.

The boys are being recognised for their efforts in providing a free and possibly life-saving service which they completed with great enthusiasm.

The national prizegiving ceremony will take place this coming Saturday, November 12 in Portlaoise.