'A day I can't forget,' Martin Quinn reflects on Tipperary International Peace Award ceremony

As many of you know I am one of the organisers of the Tipperary International Peace Award.

On Tuesday last we had the great pleasure of welcoming the National Leader of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Tipperary Town to receive the Tipperary International Peace Award.

It was a great honour for us as members of the committee to recognise Sviatlana with the Tipperary Peace Award.
She is the 32nd recipient of the Award which was first presented in 1984 to the late Seán McBride.

She spent the full day in Tipperary with a series of engagements and she was warmly received at each location.

Her first engagement was at St Mary’s Church to receive the 2020 Tipperary Peace Award.

There was an Ecumenical Prayer Service at the start which was led by The Very Rev Paul Draper, Dean of Lismore assisted by Bishop Adrian Wilkinson, Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory, Archdeacon Eugene Everard, PP, Tipperary and Rev Paschal Hanrahan, Irish Defence Forces Chaplain.

Music for the occasion was provided by the Rockwell Music Academy. At the ceremony itself we heard from Billy Kelleher, MEP, Senator Mark Daly, Guy Jones, President of the Irish Lebanese Cultural Foundation, Lt Col Fiacra Keyes, Irish Defence Forces, Voyteck Bialek, CEO Together-Razem Charity and from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The award ceremony was captured by Virgin Media News and featured on their afternoon and evening news bulletins.

After the ceremony it was off to the Tipperary Remembrance Arch for the wreath laying ceremony.

Here Sviatlana was joined by a number of Ambassadors and members of the local community to lay wreaths in memory of all who had died in the various wars.

Sviatlana addressed the crowd who had gathered at the Arch and IUNVA Post 24 were present and called to attention for the sounding of the Last Post.

From the Remembrance Arch it was on to St Ailbe’s School where she was greeted by school principal, Ruaidhri Devitt.

Some members of the staff and students provided musical entertainment and then Sviatlana addressed the students and took questions from a number of students.

From the school it was across the road to the Municipal Offices to receive a Civic Welcome from the Cathaoirleach, Cllr Micheál Anglim and from County Cathaoirleach, Cllr Roger Kennedy and from Councillors Michael Fitzgerald, Marie Murphy, John Crosse and Mary Hanna Hourigan.

After the Civic Welcome had concluded it was on to Circle of Friends Cancer Support Centre. Sviatlana was met by the Chair of the Centre, Jim Rhatigan, Centre Manager Kay Hogan and by a number of Board Members and supporters.

Sviatlana planted a cherry blossom tree in the grounds of the centre and was given a tour of the premises and of the outdoor garden and facilities.

The final part of Sviatlana’s busy schedule was a visit to the Glen of Aherlow and to Aherlow House Hotel.

At the Christ the King viewing point she was met by Glen of Aherlow Fáilte Society Chair, Carmel Donovan, Manager Helen Morrissey, and committee members Nora May Kennedy and Richard Bourke.

It was great for Tipperary to hear the Award being spoken about in interviews with Svitalana on Morning Ireland and Prime Time on RTE, on Virgin Media News and on Tipp Mid West Radio and Tipp FM and other local stations, and it being featured in the print media on several different publications.

For myself it was an honour to be in her company throughout the day and to see how humble and unassuming she is in person.

It’s a day I can’t forget, made better by the fact that the weather shined so beautifully on proceedings.

A word of thanks to the Select Vestry for allowing the use of St Mary’s Church, to MJB Catering, Fitzpatrick Printers, to Deirdre Morrissey for the wonderful floral displays, to TASK Community Care who were the sponsors of the Award and to our own Jarlath Daly whose magnificent bronze Dove of Peace Award and the award to the Irish Defence Forces took pride of place next to the pulpit in St Mary’s.

A final word of thanks to the members of An Garda Síochána who ensured that the delegation were escorted without delay to each location and for their general assistance throughout the day. See pages six and seven for more coverage