L-R: MRCC Board member Anne-Marie Flynn, former MRCC Board Member Justin Kerr, former MRCC Chairperson, Beverley Flynn, MRCC Director of Services, Loretta Brosnan McDonagh, and MRCC Board Members Caroline Barry and Leona McGowan. Photo: Connaught Telegraph

The Director and Board of Mayo Rape Crisis Centre were honoured to attend the 2023 Mayo People of the Year Awards, as the Centre was recognised for its work in the community.

On the night, the Centre was described thus:  

“The Centre has been in the county town for almost 30 years, delivering a service countywide. The service it provides necessitates a commitment to safety , discretion, empathy and a radical standing with people who have endured a violation of the most profound kind, and their families and supporters.

The services with its staff, volunteers and board work with the impact of some of the most serious crimes that can be committee. In terms of professionalism, expertise and care, it is very much a service that works on an ongoing basis with the constant changes to the overall picture of sexual violence, changes in the law, the various cultures that enable sexual violence to happen, and the lonely, distressing after-effects for many victims and survivors.”

The annual Mayo People of the Year Awards are organised by Mayo Rehab, working with Mayo County Council and the Connaught Telegraph. Funds raised during the event Awards Dinner go towards the services of Mayo Rehab, an organisation that works with children, adults, and older persons with disabilities and with their families.

Director at Mayo Rape Crisis Centre, Loretta Brosnan McDonagh said: 

“Mayo Rape Crisis Centre is honoured to be among the recipients of the Mayo People of the Year Awards for 2023. The award speaks of the value placed on this service that has operated in the community for the past 29 years, and honours the work of the staff of the Centre, the Board of Directors, but more than anything, the voice of the survivor throughout Mayo.”

“We are really grateful that the service is being recognised in this way by the county.”

2024 will mark 30 years of Mayo Rape Crisis Centre in the community, with a series of initiatives planned to honour survivors and the work of the Centre.