A PASSAGE West man is seeing his contribution to the area pay off with a special award acknowledging inspirational Corkonians.

Walty Murphy, has been named the December winner of the Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards.

It follows a series of nominations from locals hoping to show their appreciation to Mr Murphy.

Born and raised in Passage West, Walty has been regaling locals and visitors alike, with tales of his youthful adventures in the area. He also enjoys sharing his love of shoreline crab-fishing with children during Heritage Week, in addition to volunteering as a guide in Passage West Maritime Museum.

Walty has been involved in various projects in Passage West over the years, including the care and enhancement of the oldest graveyard in Marmullane.

In particular, his work with the Passage West Men’s Shed has been highlighted. Walty organised a team of volunteers through the initiative to create an outdoor garden where pupils could grow vegetables at local primary school, Star of the Sea.

Walty is a key coordinator of the Men’s Shed Band who often perform to enrich the atmosphere of local outdoor markets and street festivals. He was an integral member of the team involved in bringing a HSE-registered kitchen to the Men’s Shed complex which is now open to everyone in the community.

“Walty Murphy is a truly unique character and embodies everything that the Community Spirit Awards represent,” General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Eoghan Murphy said. “He never tires of taking time out to help others in his local area and shares his passion and love for the local heritage with everyone in the town.”

He praised Walty for his humility.

“He doesn’t look for plaudits for the work that he does and faces every project he gets involved in with good humour, co-operation, a positive attitude and a great big smile for which the community are extremely grateful.

“We are delighted to honour Walty the award for the month of December and we hope he continues bringing joy to the people of Passage West for years to come.”

The Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards are sponsored by The Carrigdhoun Newspaper and Gerald McCarthy Giftware.

Its judging panel is made up of Director of Operations at Trigon Hotels, Carmel Lonergan Group, Senior Executive Officer at Municipal District operations and Rural Development at Cork County Council, Nicola Radley, Bank of Ireland Manager in Carragaline and Douglas, Aisling Killilea and Vincent O’Donovan and Jack White from the Carrigdhoun newspaper.