St. Mary’s Park youths reap awards for hard work

THE work of participants in the Abbey Youth Local Training Initiative was recognised with an awards ceremony at King’s Island Youth and Community Centre in St. Mary’s Park recently. Organised by Limerick Youth Service (LYS) the programme saw youths from the area complete five diverse and challenging courses for which they were presented with FETAC certificates. At the ceremony the young people also received a bronze medal from the President of Ireland’s ‘An Gaisce Award,’ which recognises the contribution of young people to their local communities and a certificate of achievement from Evolve Life Skills.

On the sporting front the group received an FAI Kick-Start 1 Football Coaching Award, a Spikeball Level One Coaching Certificate and a LEP Award from Munster Rugby.  Presenting the awards Cllr Maria Byrne thanked everyone involved in the Abbey Youth Initiative, with a particular thank you to the tutors and course participants for “encouraging one another to stick with the course”.  “’I am delighted to hear that many of you have got employment or are continuing to further study”, she added.
“You are a credit to yourselves, your family and community; May I wish you all the very best for the future”,
The 36 week-programme brought together 12 young people from the community and covered a variety of subjects and activities, among them ‘Spikeball’.
Developed by the Volleyball Association of Ireland, Spikeball aims to give people the techniques and confidence to introduce this hybrid game to their peers.
This course improves a person’s self confidence and gives them the skills to pass on the knowledge they’ve learned to their peers.
Addressing the award recipients, course co-ordinator, Louise O’Connor, of LYS, said: “It was great to see the improvements in confidence as the programme progressed.
“You have come a long way since that first morning nine months ago and the positive work and classroom-based experiences you have had will stand you in good stead in your future careers”.
A spokesperson for LYS thanked all involved for for their support in organising, participating in and facilitating the Abbey Youth Local Training Initiative.