In Pictures: Meals on Wheel’s Brendanis Blarney Person of the Year

A Meals on Wheels volunteer was crowned Blarney and District Person of the Year at the annual awards ceremony last weekend.

Brendan Murphy received his award from Garda Sean O’Dwyer — standing in for last year’s winner, Garda Tim McSweeney — and said he was accepting it on behalf of “the cooks, volunteer drivers, and many local clubs and organisations who fundraise for us”.

Also, ecologist Tom O’Byrne was inducted in to the Blarney Hall of Fame by Blarney Chamber of Commerce chair, Marlene Griffin.

Now in their 16th year, the annual awards, sponsored by The Muskerry News and Blarney and District Chamber of Commerce, recognise achievement, leadership, and altruism in community, sport, business, arts, family or, indeed, in any sector or activity in the local community. They are organised by local businesswoman Kate Durrant, solicitor John Henchion, and councillor Damian Boylan.

Mr Boylan said: “With so many worthy monthly winners during 2025, our panel of judges had a particularly difficult task to choose an overall winner.”

Mr Henchion added that while the nominees come from a range of backgrounds, they all had one thing in common: “Through their lives and achievements, each and every one of them have excelled in their own special way.”

Nominees

Other 2025 nominees included Grenagh’s Bronagh Green; Frances and Niamh Byrne, for promoting physical activity; singer and musician Anna Mitchell, who established Blarney Community Choir; Aileen Sheehan, Ireland’s first female Young Farmer of the Year; elite endurance runner Brian Mullins; charity champion Deirdre Hourihan Healy; gold medallist Michael Kiely; charity fundraisers Joan O’Mahony and Julie Fitzgerald; and Helena Horgan, for her dedicated work in Shournagh Childcare.

Mr Murphy, who took the top prize, was awarded person of the month in February for his decades of work with Blarney Meals on Wheels.

This voluntary organisation, partially funded by the HSE, has been active for more than 30 years.

Starting out in the old convent hall, with Mr Murphy as treasurer, the service grew, with Mr Murphy overseeing a significant renovation that included a state-of-the-art kitchen and storeroom on the grounds of the convent.

Supported 

Supported by chefs Cora and Diane, hundreds of meals a week are prepared, with a menu that considers all dietary and allergy needs. The meals are then delivered by volunteer drivers.

Mr Murphy is engaged in all aspects of the organisation, from financial matters to logistics. This includes co-ordinating the daily routes for drivers and personally delivering meals if a volunteer is unavailable.

Blarney Meals on Wheels is an integral part of the Blarney community and makes a significant impact in the lives of those who use their service, thanks to the commitment of Mr Murphy and his team of volunteers, past and present.

Mr O’Byrne was also honoured. He is known as the Father of the Fen, after a documentary in his honour was produced last year to acknowledge his incredible work in making the Clogheenmilcon Fen and Wildlife Sanctuary what it is today.

A well-known environmental ecologist with over four decades of experience, he was also recently honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Environmental Forum Awards.