North Cork Community Activists Honoured as June Cork Persons of the Month

Tim Sheehan, Mallow Development Partnership and Gerard Sheehan, founder of the Doneraile, Buttevant & Mallow Community Responder Schemes, have been honoured with the Cork Persons of the Month Award to mark their outstanding contribution to their North Cork communities.

Tim Sheehan, former Station Master of Kent Station, Cork, has dedicated decades to community activism in Mallow. Tim started volunteering in Mallow at a young age, looking after the natural hot spring spa water pool and became one of the leading activists and fundraisers for the fund raising project, raising funds that helped build the Mallow Swimming Pool which opened in 1967. Tim served as chairman of the inaugural Irish Red Cross Water Safety section in Mallow, and went on to organise life-saving classes at the Bulwarks on the River Blackwater for decades. Since then he has been involved with various social clubs and sporting organisations and was a leading member of the Mallow Development Partnership. Tim has been volunteering to better his community for over fifty years and recently worked on the Thomas Davis Bi-Centenary celebrations.

The DBM Community First Responders Scheme, established in 2014 by Gerard Sheehan, has attended over 900 call-out’s and is a committed 24/7 service assisting victims of heart attack, stroke, choking and cardiac arrest. Gerard, a qualified CFR instructor, leads the group, arranging training classes, and maintaining equipment and defibrillators, giving people in North Cork an increased chance of survival. Gerard Sheehan is heavily involved in fundraising efforts to ensure these services are able to continue. He ensures all DBM First Responders are involved in upskilling courses on a regular basis.

Speaking on their recent success both nominees acknowledge the other volunteers in their organisations. Gerard Sheehan, also a chief organiser of a Community First Responders Awareness Family Fun Day, raising awareness of the tireless work of CFR volunteers, spoke of his gratitude on receiving the Cork Person of the Month Award; “It is truly heart-warming to see the work of the Doneraile, Buttevant and Mallow Community First Responders recognised by the Cork Person of the Year Awards Scheme. Our team, and teams of first responders across the county work tirelessly to make our community a better and safer place for all its residents.” Tim Sheehan commented, “The work I’ve done would not have been possible without the support of the people of Mallow. I am accepting this award on behalf of the many volunteers I worked with over the years.”

Awards organiser Manus O'Callaghan said, “People like Gerard and Tim are an inspiration to us all and I thank them for their great work over the years. I hope this award will inspire others to follow in their footsteps."

Gerard Sheehan and Tim Sheehan (no relation) will now have both their names go forward for possible selection as Cork Person of the Year 2019 at a gala awards lunch on the 17th January 2020 in Rochestown Park Hotel.