Twins Darryl and Declan Barry from Waterford Marine Search and Rescue who were named as Volunteers of the Year last night in the Volunteer Ireland Awards.
Twin brothers from Waterford city, who have helped save some 69 lives, were last night named as Volunteers of the Year in the awards scheme organised by Volunteer Ireland.
In January 2010, Darryl and Declan Barry set up Waterford Marine Search and Rescue to provide Waterford city with a voluntary 24-hour, year-round search and rescue service.
Since then the organisation has grown to involve 40 volunteers and helped to save 69 lives.
The Barry brothers received the award at a gala ceremony in Dublin last night. The Barrys are at the organisation?s base seven days a week and often stay late into the night making sure that the service is working to its full potential.
The voluntary service also operates a weekend suicide prevention patrol system which the pair developed. This patrol is now spreading nationwide, with several other communities adopting the approach.
Distress
They were nominated for an award by fellow volunteer David Hearne who said the brothers had changed the lives of hundreds of people by setting up the organisation. ?If we get called out to a person in distress at three in the morning they will be there along with the rest of the crew,? said Mr Hearne.
Ten other volunteers won awards. They were: John Power, Dunmore East Tidy Towns, Waterford; Alice Mannion, Kilmurry Drama Group, Roscommon; Frankie Forde Waldron, Mayo-Roscommon Hospice; Killian O?Reilly, For?ige Bundoran, Donegal; Daniel Downey, Cavan Community Radio and others; Fintan Mulligan, 121digital, Ashford, Wicklow; Lorraine Dempsey, Special Needs Parents Association, Aughrim, Wicklow; Anne Copplestone, The Hope Foundation, Cork; Liam Hendry assisting Leo Garvey, Ballina, Mayo; John McCarthy, Irish Wheelchair Association Sport, east Cork.
Commitment
Chief executive of Volunteer Ireland Yvonne McKenna congratulated all the award recipients and nominees and thanked them ?for their commitment and dedication to making Ireland a better place to live in?.
More than 13,500 volunteers have registered through volunteer.ie and local volunteer centres so far this year. These volunteers have built up 439,000 hours of voluntary work, estimated to have an equivalent value of almost ?10 million.
