Inspirational Tipperary people Peter Ryan and Sr Eileen Fahey honoured at gala Tipperary awards night

It was a special occasion in Dublin when two inspirational Tipperary people were honoured by their county men and women.

At a gala function in the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel, the remarkable athlete Peter Ryan was feted as the Tipperary Person of the Year, while founder of the Aiseiri addiction treatment centres, Sr Eileen Fahey, was inducted into the Tipperary Hall of Fame.

The packed attendance stood as one to give standing ovations to the two recipients at the event organised by the Tipperary Association Dublin.

As always, it was a special event for the Premier County in one of its spiritual homes, the Naas Road hotel owned by Cappawhite native Louis Fitzgerald.

Peter Ryan was honoured for his incredible achievements since losing over 80% of his eyesight to Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

A hugely promising hurler before the illness struck, Peter, from Drombane,  has since become a world class tandem cyclist and with his pilot, Sean Hahessy from Carrick Wheelers, became the first tandem pair to complete the Race Around Ireland, a gruelling 2,157km.

And to make the achievement all the more noteworthy, he raised over €90,000 for the Doran and Gleeson families who have two children affected by serious childhood illnesses.

Peter and Sean represented Ireland at the Rio paralympics and just two weeks ago came fifth in the world championships in Holland. He is currently in training for the Tokyo paralympics in 2020.

Hall of Fame winner Sr Eileen Fahey opened her first Aiseiri centre in Cahir and since then has established centres in Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny.

Now retired after thirty years devotion to addiction treatment, she still continues to serve the community in Cahir.

Sister Eileen showed strong and dynamic leadership from the very beginning and in a very short time her Aiseiri project was recognised, not just in Ireland, but internationally, as one of the most professional and effective addiction treatment models.

The road to addiction recovery is always difficult, challenging and painful and from day one, Sister Eileen was very much aware of this.  She knew that those entering addiction treatment would require a safe, compassionate and caring environment, along with high quality professional treatment and support.  That is exactly what Aiseiri provided and Sister Eileen played a pivotal role in creating that environment.

Tipperary Association Dublin president Liam Myles, a native of Ardfinnan, paid glowing tribute to two proud Tipperary people Peter Ryan and Sr Eileen as they were presented with specially commissioned awards, sculpted by Tipperary town man Jarlath Daly.

It was a wonderful occasion for all Tipperary people in Dublin and those who travelled from the Premier County to the event.