Two local stars among sports bursary recipients

Two sporting stars with local clubs are among the Longford County Council Sports Bursary recipients for 2021.

Ballymahon native and Buccaneers rugby player Charlie Byrne, along with Athlone Town soccer player Melissa O’Kane are among the six recipients.

Byrne is a member of Buccaneers RFC and he has been selected on Connacht U16, U17 and U18 squads over the past few years. He has also represented Ireland at U18 international level.

O’Kane from Ardagh plays with the Athlone Town women’s team and has represented the Republic of Ireland at U19 level, including in recent games against Russia.

The other recipients are athletics sprinter Fumni Talabi from Edgeworthstown; basketball player Caolán Lynch from Abbeylara; swimming ace Darragh Greene from Newtownforbes, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics last summer; and Ciarán Madden, a triathlete from Newtownforbes.

Longford County Council announced the Sports Bursary recipients, in collaboration with the Longford Sports Partnership.

Longford County Council allocated €5,000 towards this bursary. The purpose of the award is to recognise achievement by aspiring individual performers who have the ability and potential to achieve success at national and international level.

Presenting the bursary awards, Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr Peggy Nolan expressed her pride in each of the recipients and paid tribute to their achievements.

“We thank you for all that you have each achieved in the past and for lifting our spirits as you did so. We look forward to continuing to support you in future as you fly the flag for Longford,” she said.

Chief Executive Paddy Mahon congratulated each of the recipients and paid tribute to the work of Longford Sports Partnership.

“Longford Sports Partnership is there not just to support, but also to highlight the achievements of Longford’s local sportspeople and Longford County Council is delighted to be in a position to continue to award these bursaries,” he said.