President presents youth with Gaisce Gold Awards for contribution to society

Almost 80 young people who invested some 25,000 hours in volunteering and personal development were commended by President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin on Tuesday as he presented the Gaisce Gold Awards.

The 79 recipients from across Ireland were praised for their outstanding and inspirational contribution to society during the first ceremony since before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Gaisce, the President’s Award, was established in 1985 and is a three-tiered (bronze, silver and gold) personal development programme for young people aged 14 to 25. More than 250,000 of the awards have been presented in the 37 years since.

In order to achieve a gold award, a recipient must set and reach their own goals across areas that include personal skill, physical activity, community involvement and team adventure.

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Communication skills

Kirsty Moran (23), who received a gold award for assisting with disclosing domestic abuse, said every student should try to take part in the awards. “Definitely you develop your personality, organisational skills, self-motivation and decision making. Besides that, you meet new people every day which develops your communication skills as well,” she said.

Sarah Ryan-Purcell (21) said Gaisce had changed her life entirely. During the competition, she went to California to do a psychology internship and was so inspired that she decided to do a psychology course at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. As a personal challenge, she learned to play the piano and tennis and volunteered in the local church. She also found new friends while going on a trip to Ballyhoura.

“Those were people I’ve never met before but we were at the same college. We are friends now so it’s very inspiring,” she said.

Gaisce chief executive Yvonne McKenna said: “Every single day, I am inspired by the courage, the energy and the commitment of young people doing their Gaisce Award, and I am so thrilled we are getting to celebrate the breadth of their achievements … young people are consistently pushing themselves for others”.