Ballinasloe siblings honoured at Traveller Pride Awards

Two siblings from Ballinasloe were the recipients of awards last week at the Traveller Pride Awards 2024.

John and Nadine Cawley were winners of the Youth (18-25) and Sport awards respectively.

The theme of this year's Traveller Pride Awards was 'Hidden Voices: A celebration of those less heard', and they were held on May 23 in the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield in Dublin. These awards marked the beginning of Traveller Pride Week.

Nadine, aged 15, won the Sport award. She has been described as an “outstanding” soccer player, and plays for Ballinasloe Town Football Club. She has already represented Balinasloe in competitions abroad, and is the only traveller girl to be involved in soccer at this level.

Her older brother John, who won the Youth Award, is also heavily involved in Ballinasloe Town FC, where he is both a player for the team and the assistant manager of the Women's team. For the past 15 years, John has been connected with the Involve Youth Service, first as a member, and then as a youth leader. Although he now works full time, John still volunteers to help with sports programmes and visit current youth participants, and has recently taken part in a massive fundraiser for the soccer club to build a 4G Astro Pitch.

His nominator said: “I am very proud of the man he has become and the strength and dedication he shows in his community.”