The 2022 Volunteer Ireland Awards took place on Friday, 2 December 2022. Gwen Maher was named Ireland’s Volunteer of the Year 2022 and awardees were announced in 11 other categories.
Read about the Volunteer Ireland Awards 2022 winners.
The Volunteer Ireland Awards are the major annual initiative to celebrate volunteers in Ireland. The awards shine a light on the remarkable achievements of volunteers around the country by honoring them at a national level.
Every volunteer that is nominated will receive a thank you card from Volunteer Ireland. We want to let everyone who is nominated know that their contributions are greatly valued and that someone took the time to put them forward for an award.
Awardees’ volunteer stories will be shared across our social media channels and with local and national press. By sharing these incredible volunteers’ stories we are honouring their contribution to Irish society and also inspiring others to get involved.
The 2023 Volunteer Ireland Awards will open for nominations in Autumn 2023 and will take place at the end of 2023.
Every year one truly exceptional volunteer is named Christine Buckley Volunteer of the Year. This award is named in memory of Christine Buckley, who sadly passed away in March 2014. As a co-founder of C.L.G. Christine Buckley Centre for Education and Support for Survivors of Institutional Abuse, Christine campaigned tirelessly on behalf of victims of institutional abuse for more than 25 years. Christine was Ireland’s Volunteer of the Year in 2009 and went on to be presented with the award for ‘European Volunteer of the Year’ at the European Parliament in Strasbourg the same year.
This award is a unique collaboration between the Volunteer Ireland Awards and The Wheel’s Charity Impact Awards. The Community Hero Award is a lifetime achievement award honouring a volunteer who has made an extraordinary contribution to a good cause. The 10 longest serving awardees from the Volunteer Ireland Awards are eligible to be selected for the Community Hero Award. The Wheel’s judging panel will select the winner who will be celebrated at The Wheel’s Charity Impact Awards in December.