Members of the Mayo Association in Dublin will gather next Friday afternoon for the first Mayo Person of the Year awards ceremony in three years.

Hollymount native Darren Forde.

Darren Forde, from Hollymount, has claimed the prestigious accolade for his tireless work as the co-ordinator of the Hollymount Community First Responders (CFR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Group and for his invention of an eco-powered cabinet that will revolutionise the provision of AEDs and other emergency medical treatments in remote areas globally. Kilmeena GAA Club in West Mayo is to receive the Meitheal award in recognition of its success in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship in 2022.

Kilmeena’s John Ryan and Ronan O’Donnell celebrate after winning the 2022 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. INPHO/James Crombie

The awards, which are organised annually by the Mayo Association Dublin, will be presented at the Mayo Association business lunch on Friday next in the Intercontinental Hotel in Ballsbridge.

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that this is the first awards ceremony since February 2020, and Darren, a roads engineer with Mayo County Council, will succeed fellow South Mayo resident and chief executive of Mayo Roscommon Hospice, Martina Jennings.

Tickets for the event have been selling fast and it is expected to be a ‘full house’ for the luncheon, which will be the first of a number of events organised by the Mayo Association in Dublin in 2023. Some tickets are still available and can be obtained by emailing [email protected]