Cork cycling club prepares to compete in the upcoming National Lottery Good Causes Awards


On Saturday 29th May, Kanturk Cycling club will compete in the first ever virtual National Lottery Good Causes Awards.


 

The National Lottery Good Causes 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 Bennet 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. Kanturk Cycling Club is a finalist in the Sport category of the Good Causes Awards.


The Awards have 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.



Each 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 at a virtual event hosted by Grainne Seoige live from the Mansion House on Saturday 29th May.



Following the announcement of the thirty-six finalists back in February, each of the community groups, sports clubs and organisations from all over Ireland, went on to the virtual judging segment of the competition which took place on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th February. Representatives from each of the finalist groups were asked to do a short presentation remotely to the judging panel and to answer any questions that arose.



The judging panel was chaired by Nuala Carey, Lotto presenter, and also included Seamus Griffin, CEO of the Griffin Retail Group, Fergus Finlay, Columnist and Author, and Jennifer Crowe, CSR Manager of the National Lottery.



Awards Chairperson, Nuala Carey, spoke of the incredible challenge that the panel faced in deciding on winners for each of the categories:

“We were in total awe of each of the 36 finalists after seeing their presentations. It’s no easy feat being asked to do a presentation remotely but each of the groups really took the task in their stride and highlighted all of the wonderful work being done in every corner of the country with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding. Each of the finalists truly are doing amazing work within their communities and if we could give them all an award, we would! I wish all 36 finalists the best of luck on the day.”



More information on the finalists and the National Lottery Good Causes Awards can be found at www.lottery/good-causes-awards/finalists



Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage and the Irish Language. In total more than €6 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 34 years ago. In 2020 alone, €254 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.