SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S SPOT THE DIFFERENCE:
Keeley’s left earring has been removed, as have her ring and the heel on her shoe. The Audio written above her head is now Oudio, and the yellow logo to the side of her has become orange.
KANTURK Cycling Club has been named amongst the thirty-six community groups, sports clubs and organisations from all over Ireland who were announced as finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards. Kanturk Cycling Club is a finalist in the Sport category of the Good Causes Awards.
The Awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities. Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes all over the country.
Since establishing in 1997, cyclists from Kanturk Cycling Club have competed at both national and international level. While the club is proud of their past and present cyclists who have competed at a professional level, including Sam Bennett at the Tour de France, they are determined to ensure that cyclists of all ages and abilities can enjoy the sport at their club.
The club has over 60 members and is home to Ireland’s only Olympic size track. Funding has proved essential for the maintenance of the 250 metre outdoor track and has also allowed facilities to be upgraded to the necessary standard required for national and international competitions. The track has been beneficial for the wider community as it attracts visitors from near and far to both train and compete.
The 36 winning groups will now proceed to the grand final in six categories: Sport, Health & Wellbeing, Heritage, Arts & Culture, Community and Youth. A seventh category, Irish Language, will have a special award to be announced at the Awards final, in recognition of outstanding work done in the promotion of the Irish Language.
Speaking at the announcement, the CEO of the National Lottery, Andrew Algeo, congratulated the 36 finalists who have reached this final stage of the awards process.
He said: “The Good Causes Awards allow us to shine a light on the outstanding work being done in our communities by extraordinary groups. Our aim is to recognize the exceptional contributions of our finalists and show the people of Ireland exactly what their participation and support in the National Lottery is achieving within their communities. We are all aware of how difficult the past year has been and how important sports clubs, organisations and groups are to our well-being. This truly is our chance to show our appreciation for keeping our communities going during such uncertain times.”
The judging of the National Finals of the Good Causes Awards took place virtually this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. At this stage, representatives from each of the 36 finalist groups will be asked to do a short presentation remotely to the judging panel and respond to any questions that may arise. The judging panel was chaired by Lotto and weather presenter, Nuala Carey. Fergus Finlay, Columnist and Author, joined the panel as an independent judge.
Each national category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will get an additional €25,000 on top of this. The winners will be announced on Saturday May 29 at the Mansion House in Dublin (subject to Public health measures in place at the time). The event will alternatively take place virtually depending on the guidelines in effect.
The 36 National Lottery Good Causes Awards finalists are below. More information on the finalists and the National Lottery Good Causes Awards can be found at www.lottery.ie/good-causes-awards/finalists.