Here are the 12 people vying to take the title of 'Cork Person of the Year'
This year's nominees have all made significant contributions in their respective organisations.
Twelve prominent people from areas including the media, charity organisations, innovative businesses, the sporting world and beyond have been selected over the course of 2019.
The gala awards, which has been running since 1993 will take place in Rochestown Park Hotel on Friday, January 17.
Along with the prestigious award of Cork Person of the Year, the 'Honorary Corkman Award', Cork’s 'Hall of Fame', and a special award presented to Nationwide’s retiring TV star, Mary Kennedy will be presented.
This year's Hall of Fame inductee is renowned Fermoy Businessman, Philanthropist, Educationalist and Environmentalist, Dr Tom Cavanagh.
Dubliner John Bowman is to be crowned this year's Honorary Corkman.
The historian and broadcaster is to follow in the footsteps of previous winners including Joe Schmidt, Michael Flatley, Jeremy Irons and David and Patsy Puttnam.
The 12 esteemed nominees for Cork Person of the Year selected over the course of last year for are as follows:
John Dolan, Assistant Editor and Features Editor of took over as Editor of the back in 2002.
The , published by has been printed every year since 1897.
Written as John notes "by the people for the people", the has become one of Cork's most treasured Christmas traditions.
February – Máire Ní Chéileachair:
The 2018 TG4 Singer of the Year winner was honoured for her teaching and singing of Sean-Nós, a traditional form of unaccompanied Irish singing.
Despite beginning her singing career later than most, at 40 years of age, Máire has proven that age bears no limits when it comes to achieving goals.
March – Frankie Sheahan and Norma Murphy:
The couple behind the Pendulum Summit, former Rugby International star Frankie and his wife Norma established this International Business and Self-Empowerment summit.
Established in 2014, the Pendulum Summit was the first of its kind in Ireland and is held every year in Dublin.
In 2018, Pendulum Summit widened their reach and expanded to New York.
It is also lauded for an extensive online learning platform.
April – Caitriona Twomey:
Caitriona Twomey is the Head of Cork Penny Dinners which serves over 2,000 freshly made meals every week to Cork’s hungry and homeless.
Having worked with the organisation as a full-time volunteer for several years, Caitriona’s spirit in helping those less fortunate is infectious and has seen the number of meals served rise from 150 before the recession to 2,000 today.
May – Carmel O’Keeffe:
At the helm of the Cork branch of 'Dress for Success', which provides interview coaching and professional attire for women, helping them to achieve economic independence, Carmel has helped hundreds of women since establishing the branch back in 2013.
June – Tim Sheehan and Gerard Sheehan:
Tim (of Mallow Development Partnership) and Gerard (of the Doneraile, Buttevant, Mallow Community First Responders Scheme) were honoured back in June for the voluntary services which they provide to their communities in North Cork.
July – Dinny Kiely:
Dinny is the longest-serving member of Cork City Missing Persons' Search and Recovery team, which conducts searches on land and water.
Mr Kiely has been volunteering with the organisation for 17 of its 18 years, devoting himself to the search and recovery efforts on behalf of families of the missing.
August – William Hammond and Jim Walsh:
William and Jim are the co-founders of the Cork Folk Festival.
They have been running the festival for 40 years, preserving Cork's rich cultural heritage.
Through the decades, the festival has grown and expanded into what it is today — a four-day festival showcasing the very best Irish and international folk musicians with over 50 events across the city.
September – Stephen Teap:
Having lost his wife to cervical cancer back in 2017, Stephen became one of the leading campaigners on behalf of all those impacted by the CervicalCheck screening failures.
Stephen was also a founding member of the 221 Plus Patient Support Group, alongside Vicky Phelan and Loraine Walsh.
This group helps victims directly affected by the CervicalCheck screening failure, as well as their families, by providing them with advice, information and support.
October – James Sugrue:
James Sugrue, 22 is the golfing sensation who won the 2019 Amateur Championship.
The Mallow native announced that he will turn Professional next June, after his involvement in the US Open.
He was named Cork Person of the Month in October.
November – Peter Coppinger and Daniel Mackey:
The duo established Cork's top software company, Teamwork which services more than 24,000 clients around the world, including the likes of Disney and Spotify.
In 2018 they won the EY Irish Entrepreneurs of the Year Award.
December – Patrick Horgan:
Patrick is a Cork and Glen Rovers stand-out star hurler, who recently won another All-Star award and was nominated for the 2019 Hurler of the Year award.
The Blackpool native has been playing hurling from a young age, working his way up through juvenile and underage levels.
He has surpassed Christy Ring as Cork's all-time leading scorer in championship hurling.
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