Retailer Tomás named Dublin Association’s Kerry Person of the Year ‘19

IT’S over 50 years since Dingle man Tomás Garvey teamed up with his mother, Catherine, to manage a grocery and drapery store on Stand Street, having worked there with his parents for a few years prior to that.

But since first dipping his toes in the business world in the mid-1950s, by any measure he has established himself as successful businessman and hotelier, and his Garvey Group now covers nine supermarkets across Munster, including stores in Dingle, Tralee, Listowel, and Castleisland.

With all that considered, it should come as no surprise that Tomás has now joined a list including Colm Cooper, Ted Moynihan, Danny Tim O’Sullivan, Mick Galwey, Sister Consilio, and many others by being named as Kerry Person of the Year by the Kerry Association in Dublin.

Tomás himself, however, said he was somewhat taken aback at joining such great names.

“I didn’t think I was worthy of it, to be honest,” he told The Kerryman. “When you look at that list, there are some outstanding names, and I didn’t think I belonged alongside them at all. It’s very humbling.

“But I’m delighted – and, please God, we’ll have a great night in Croke Park at Oíche Chiarraí!”

It was also noted by the Kerry Association in Dublin that Tomás has supported and sponsored, amongst other things, Kerry GAA and basketball, as well as a number of charities and community projects.

“We are delighted to honour Tomás for all that he has done for the people of Kerry,” Cathaoirleach Keelin Kissane told The Kerryman. “This award is presented in recognition of the valuable contribution he has made to Kerry through the business he has grown and the positive effect of the Garvey Group business in the communities in which it operates”.

The award dates back to 1979, when Dr Michael Carmody became its inaugural winner, and its list of high-profile winners makes it one of the most sought-after accolades for any Kerry person.

Tomás will now be the toast of Oiche Chiarraí on March 30, and the event will take place in Croke Park to coincide with the prize’s 40th anniversary.

The Kerry Mountain Rescue Team will be recipients of the Laochra Chiarraí award, which is a relatively new but no less prestigious prize as it recognises leadership in our communities.

Tickets for Oíche Chiarraí cost €80, although an early-bird price of €75 is available until February 15. Further information is available at www. kerryassociation.ie.

I DIDN’T THINK I WAS WORTHY OF IT TO BE HONEST, THERE ARE SOME OUTSTANDING NAMES ON THE LIST Tomás Garvey

Photo by John Cleary Pictured at the announcement on Friday of the Kerry Association in Dublin’s 2019 award winners at the Radio Kerry studios in Tralee are Tomás Garvey (2019 Kerry Person of the Year), Keelin Kissane (Chairperson, Kerry Association in Dublin), Gerry Christie, on right of picture (representing Kerry Mountain Rescue, winners of the 2019 Laochra Chiarrai award) and, on left of picture, Frank Hayes of Kerry Group, sponsors of the Kerry Association Annual Dinner, Oiche Chiarrai.