Pullough Community Shop chosen for 'Unsung Hero of Offaly' award

THE community shop in Pullough has been selected as the winner of the 2021 Unsung Hero of Offaly award.

The accolade will be presented at the annual Offaly Person of the Year award gala dance in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore on Saturday April 9 next.

The recipient of the 2021 Offaly Person of the Year award is Tullamore mental health activist and founder of Counselling Tullamore (ACT), James O'Connor, as revealed last week.

Both awards are organised by a special sub-committee of the Offaly Association (Dublin).

Pullough Community Shop was founded in 2017 when a group of local volunteers took action to ensure the village and its surrounding rural area continued to have such an essential facility in the area.

The shop is open seven days a week and is manned by local volunteers who give of their time freely.

James O'Connor, who runs the company fititout.ie, and charity operator has spoken publicly in the past about how he needed psychiatric care after suffering a breakdown when his baby daughter died.

The little infant Leah Victoria passed away in 1999 and after first opening up about his mental health difficulties in 2015, Mr O'Connor has become a prominent campaigner.

“A lot of people around me started to take their own lives, young people. The age group was similar to when I had my own issues,” he said.

Mr O'Connor became active in battling the stigma associated with mental health struggles and became an ambassador for the See Change Green Ribbon campaign.

He then decided to found Accessible Counselling Tullamore (ACT) as a community-based response.

Tickets for the Offaly Person of the Year award presentation will be available in the coming weeks and can be purchased from any member of the organising committee or from the Bridge House Hotel and the Tullamore Tribune.

In all 21 people were nominated by the public for the 2021 awards: James O'Connor, Tullamore, Declan Kelly, Kilclonfert, Michaela Morkan, Shinrone, John Cronin, Tullamore, Seamus Boland, The Island, John Jones, Rhode, Sr Genny, Tullamore, Nicole Turner, Portarlington (Gracefield), Darragh Kenny, Belmont, Daingean GAA, Pullough Community Shop, John Feehan, Birr; Abdul Hafiz, Tullamore; Geraldine O'Neill, Daingean; John O'Connor, Durrow; Paul Galvin, Tullamore; Bertie McMahon, Clara; Jack McDermott, Tullamore; Brian Sheridan, Clara; Peter Ormonde, Shinrone, Ken Smollen, Tullamore and Clara.