Gold President’s award for Conor

A young Cavanman was among 98 people conferred with the top President’s Award by Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin last Friday afternoon.

Former St Patrick’s College student, Conor Gannon, earned the Gaisce Gold Award in recognition of the work he has done in the community in 2021.

Collecting the award last Friday afternoon, a humble Conor said the work he did was “fairly simple”.

“It was a nice acknowledgement to get,” he said.

Hailing from Ballytrust in Ballinagh, Conor outlined some of the initiatives that led him to receive the award. Among them were getting involved in his school choir, volunteering to supervise Irish youth club Cumann na bhFiann, helping in his local parish church, and giving computer lessons to first-year students in school.

Conor described his experience of meeting the president, saying how well he connected with people.

“I got the sense that he wasn’t just saying the few words because he had to speak to us.

“He made it clear he wanted to impart the bit of value on us,” he said, explaining that the president spoke about adding substance to our words.

“He was trying to give us perspective,” Conor said.

The president spoke about “actual reality” and questioned “how people can get so invested in the likes of a wrestling match between two billionaires when the planet is dying”.

Concluding his speech, the president said, “go forth now, continue your journey and try to leave an imprint on the world” and added that “we weren’t put on this earth to aggressively wage war”.

“I’m a fan of him in particular so it was really nice to go and see him and get to speak to him.”

Knowing that Michael D. Higgins is interested in poetry, Conor wanted to give him something he would remember and decided to write him a poem.

“I wanted to give him something to acknowledge all the work that he has been doing his whole life, but I couldn’t think of anything.

“What do you get for a president?” Conor pondered.

Conor said he writes the “odd poem” and penned one about an anti-immigrant protest in Cavan, to gift to the president.

“I’d find that very distasteful that sort of sentiment,” he said, adding that he knows the president holds a similar view.

“He’s never been afraid to say that it’s shameful how we humiliate immigrants and migrants in this country.”

Conor thanked everybody who supported him in receiving the award, particularly St Patrick’s College President’s Award Leader Geraldine O’Reilly.

“I wouldn’t have got the award without her help,” he acknowledged.

The President’s Award, is a self-development programme for young people aged 14 -25 years, which has been proven to enhance confidence, resilience, and well-being through participation in personal, physical, community, and adventure challenges.

This year’s Gold Award recipients committed two or more years to completing various challenges, resulting in a total of 37,000 hours spent achieving personal goals and volunteering within their communities.