Monkstown's Michael wins community spirit award 

A volunteer who headed up a committee to raise €3,500 for children with additional needs has been honoured with a Community Spirit Award.

Michael Coakley, from Monkstown, set up the fundraising group in December 2025 to help support the Sunshine and Smiles Club.

The money raised will help the club run activities for members including a summer camp in July and August this year.

The Sunshine and Smiles Club was set up in 2023 for children with an intellectual disability aged from 8 to 18. The club meets at Ringaskiddy Community Centre every second Friday and the activities allow the children to develop social skills in a fun environment.

Among the activities available are arts and crafts, gardening, cookery, jewellery making, air hockey, basketball and trips out to places of interest in the area.

The club nominated Michael Coakley for a Community Spirit Award due to his volunteering efforts to help support the club. The Community Spirit Awards are sponsored by the Cork International Hotel and the Carrigdhoun.

General manager of the Cork International Hotel, Eoghan Murphy said: “The Sunshine and Smiles Club is run by a dedicated group of volunteers and requires funding from the public to provide the fantastic range of activities that they run for the children.

“Michael Coakley ran a very successful fundraising campaign to help the club and for this reason he was deemed a worthy recipient of a Community Spirit Award.”

The judging panel for the Community Spirit Awards is made up of a mixture of representatives from the public and private sector within the community.

Nominations are open for next month’s awards at: https://www.corkinternationalairporthotel.com/community-spirit-awards/