Two Offaly winners among Ireland's 'Breastfeeding Champions'
Two Offaly winners were named 'Breastfeeding Champions' at a gala awards ceremony in the Tullamore Court Hotel on Saturday, March 29.
Over 200 people attended the Friends of Breastfeeding Awards gala lunch and awards presentation ceremony to recognise and celebrate excellence in breastfeeding promotion, advocacy, and support across both the professional and voluntary sectors on the island of Ireland.
Offaly based nominees lactation consultant Patricia Marteinsson, Cuidiú Offaly breastfeeding group, Banagher Breastfeeding Group, Tullamore Library, Tullamore Lions Club, and Tullamore woman Niamh Ní Dhomhnaill were all in contention for trophies at the landmark event, which was held in the Midlands for the first time this year.
Offaly took home two trophies, with Patricia Marteinsson winning ‘Lactation Consultant of the Year' and Niamh Ní Dhomhnaill of Cuidiú Offaly and breastfeeding counsellor Breda Cooney together collecting the trophy for ‘Breastfeeding Friendly Media Feature of the Year'.
Patricia Marteinsson, Public Health Nurse Breastfeeding Support for Offaly, received the award for Lactation Consultant of the Year due to her work in delivering excellent specialist care in breastfeeding and lactation.
Patricia runs the Banagher Breastfeeding Support Group and supports Cuidiú Offaly breastfeeding support group. Prior to becoming a HSE International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC), Patricia worked as a lactation consultant in private practice.
Today, she provides a consultancy breastfeeding support service to all the women in Offaly, working with individual mums in their own home at their own pace, seeing hundreds of women in person and supporting over a thousand by telephone annually.
Patricia works with local organisations like Parents First Laois/Offaly to support parents, create groups for mums and help them find their tribe, while networking with many other voluntary organisations to create support for all the women of the region.
The award for Breastfeeding Media Feature of the Year was awarded to Niamh Ní Dhomhnaill and breastfeeding counsellor Breda Cooney for their high quality media feature, for the publication of an article on ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting - a New Grandchild!’ published in the 2025 Tullamore Lions Annual.
Written by Niamh, the article was presented as an interview with Breda, and provided practical advice for parents on talking to grandparents about breastfeeding and how they can support breastfeeding.
The award ceremony was hosted by multi award-winning journalist and Irish Examiner News Editor Deirdre O’Shaughnessy, and attendees enjoyed music provided by Royal Irish Academy of Music lecturer and Irish Defence Forces School of Music saxophonist Natalia Gough.
There was a beautiful exhibition of breastfeeding images supplied by women attending support groups all over Ireland, as well as a showcase of the achievements and contributions of the 70+ shortlisted nominees for the awards.