St Mary’s Secondary School, Mallow, student Clodagh Lehane is among only 14 teenagers from all over the island of Ireland to be conferred with a Rotary Youth Leadership Award at the European Parliament’s offices in Dublin recently. Clodagh, who was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mallow, received the award from Rotary Ireland District Governor David Murray, and Patrick O’Riordan, PR Officer with the European Parliament.
The competition, which is one of Rotary Ireland’s longest running youth projects, rewards young people with clear leadership potential based on their extra-curricular activities. It is run in conjunction with the EU offices in Dublin and Euroscola in Strasbourg.
Clodagh is involved with Irish Water Safety, Mallow United and Mallow-Charleville Red Cross. She said she learned a huge amount from the competition. “I have made lifelong friends and have had an amazing opportunity to learn more about the EU and public speaking. These are things that I otherwise would have never done. Rotary is an amazing organisation, and I can’t wait to become a Rotarian in the future.”
Clodagh and other winners visited The Titanic Centre and City Hall in Belfast, and went on tours of Dublin Castle and Trinity College in Dublin. The final part of the trip was a visit to the EU office in Dublin Europe House and a showcase event in The Freemasons Hall in Dublin city centre where she and the other students spoke on a range of issues to a panel including Green MEP Ciaran Cuffe.
The Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition is open to 16- and 17-year-olds living on the island of Ireland.