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Mary-Kate Nevin was the first Traveller girl to win Irish Girl Guides’ Gold Award
Dublin, 02/06/2017 – A Navan Girl Guide won the Youth Award at the Irish Traveller Movement’s Traveller Pride Awards, which were held yesterday (1 June 2016) in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin.
Last November Mary-Kate Nevin was the first Traveller girl to win the Irish Girl Guides’ prestigious Gold Award in recognition of the contribution she had made to her local community.
Mary-Kate worked hard on her own initiative and undertook a number of challenges. She enjoyed singing in a nursing home and helping out with Brownies (Irish Girl Guides’ members aged 7-10) so much that she is continuing with these activities.
Accepting the Traveller Pride Award yesterday, Mary-Kate Nevin said, “I am so proud to be recognised for my achievements by the Girl Guides and by my own community.”
Presenting her award, former Senator, Children’s Rights campaigner and former Chief Commissioner of Irish Girl Guides, Jillian van Turnhout, said: “I am an extremely proud sister in Girl Guiding presenting this Award to Mary-Kate Nevin. She achieved the Irish Girl Guides (IGG) Gold Award challenge, and in doing so, showed her self-motivation, hard work and enthusiasm and demonstrated in bucket loads her commitment to her local community and to becoming a confident and responsible citizen of the wider world. She is an outstanding winner of the Traveller Pride Youth Award.”
Denise McDonnell, Mary-Kate’s aunt and Girl Guide Leader, said Mary-Kate’s family and friends were delighted with her achievements. “Irish Girl Guides is a wonderful organisation to be involved with,” she said. “It was through Mary-Kate’s involvement with Guiding that she won the Traveller Pride award and she was delighted to receive this award amongst her Traveller peers.”
Denise said Mary-Kate had never looked back since joining Brownies when she was seven-years-old and that her involvement in Guiding had helped her grow in confidence. “As the eldest grandchild and the only girl in her family, the opportunity to mix with other girls her own age has been invaluable,” she said.
Denise, who has been a Girl Guide Leader for almost 13 years, said she has always enjoyed seeing how much girls grow in team-building and leadership skills through their involvement in Guiding as well as developing a range of essential life skills and having a lot of fun. She said there were even more opportunities for Mary-Kate in Senior Branch (the IGG section for 14-30 year-olds), including increased independence and the possibility of overseas travel.
“Without exception, I find Guiding to be the most open organisation,” said Denise. “It is the only place I have never seen any discrimination. Guiding is all about the children, whether they are Irish, Polish, Indian or Travellers, and that’s the way it should be – a space for girls to grow in confidence.”
Irish Girl Guides welcomes new members from age 5 and adult volunteer Leaders from age 18. To find out more, see www.irishgirlguides.ie or tel: 01 6689838.
ENDS
Photo captions:
Navan Girl Guide, Mary-Kate Nevin, pictured with former Senator Jillian van Turnhout who presented her with the Youth Award at the Irish Traveller Movement’s Traveller Pride Awards