People’s champ Denis honoured
MBE for Loaves and Fishes stalwart
People’s champion Denis Curran is one of six folk with East Kilbride connections to be rewarded in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for their work.
Loaves and Fishes stalwart Denis, who became a national hero when he addressed the Scottish Parliament on the plight of poverty-stricken families in the wake of welfare cuts, is to receive an MBE.
Also receiving MBEs are Voices of Experience chairwoman Joyce Mouriki, from East Mains, and Kilbryde Hospice patron Andy Cameron.
Thorntonhall woman May Storrie, widow of millionaire businessman and philanthropist Donald Storrie, has been awarded a CBE and British Empire Medals have been awarded to Hairmyres Hospital staff nurse Dorothy Watson and Brownie l eader Christine Tweedie, from East Mains.
The award of an MBE has brought a smile to the face of Loaves and Fishes chair Denis, who has, wi th t he constant support of his wife of 49 years, Cathy, been feeding the homeless and running a food bank for more than two decades.
It has delighted the thousands of folk who know hi m or who have
benefited from his compassion, dedication and generosity of spirit over those 20-plus years.
Denis, whose impassioned speech to the Scottish Parl i ament went vi ra l on the internet, told the News the award of an MBE “makes me feel good”.
He said: “It lets you know that people are recognising what we are doing. It is nice t o get it and i t will do t he charitya lot of good. But how I wish we could shut the doors.
“While it ’s good f or our efforts to be recognised and it’s good to be able to help folk, it’s absolutely shocking that we have people starving in a so-called advanced and educated society. It ’s immoral.
“People are being denied the basic right to eat properly.”
Denis said the ordinar y f ol k of t hi s c ountr y have been wonderful and he vowed to keep up the fight to get justice for the people suffering poverty.
Just five feet four inches tall, Denisonce battled alcoholism and is crippled by arthritis.
After beating his addiction, he started helping out at a soup kitchen, f eeding t he homeless in Glasgow from the back of a van. But within af ew s hor t ye ar s he was running and expanding the venture, getting the use of Renfield St Stephen’s Church Centre in Glasgow to enable them to open a sit-in cafe and provide other services.
Nearer home, his East Kilbride charity Loaves and Fishes run a food bank.
Denis said a few years ago they provided around 40 food parcels to families at Christmas time. This year he delivered around 300 and gave more f ood f or other organisations and charities to distribute.
Demand for the food bank continues throughout the year and is growing. Thankfully, f ol l owing his speech to the Scottish Parliament, donations are flooding in.
Denis is now speaking at rallies and has the ear of the country’s politicians and he hopes he can persuade them to make a difference.