The team at Gaisce – The President’s Award today said a fond farewell to John Cunningham.
John, who has been Chairperson of the Gaisce Council, departs the role having completed his six-year term in office.
Talking about his time as Chairperson, John recalled the challenge President Michael D. Higgins gave to him when he started in the role, saying: “The President asked me, as part of my term in office, to do my best to make Gaisce as accessible as possible and to work with those on the margins of society and in six years I think we’ve done some remarkable work in delivering this.
“There have been so many highlights for me, from the LikeMinded art exhibition in the National Gallery of Ireland with young people in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work we did with young people from Oberstown Children Detention Campus and IMMA.”
Gaisce CEO Avril Ryan paid tribute to John with a special message: “I’ve been so fortunate to work closely with John during his time as Chairperson and cannot thank him enough for his commitment to Gaisce that went above and beyond. Throughout his six-year tenure of voluntary service his dedication, wisdom, support, and passion has left a lasting impact on the work of Gaisce, and indeed all of us involved in the organisation. His energy and respect for the organisation’s mission, strategy, staff, Council colleagues, PALs, and young people has undoubtedly helped drive progress and inspired others to do their very best for the young people of Ireland through the Gaisce Awards.”
John reflected on the legacy of his time with Gaisce: “I’m so optimistic and enthusiastic for the future based on the people I’ve met. It has been a huge sense of pride and an honour to chair the organisation and I certainly will be an ambassador forever!”
Everyone at Gaisce would like to thank John for all of his hard work and support over the past six years and wish him well in his future endeavours.
In this video, John reflects on experience, highlights and optimism for the future: