The Dublin Community Blog

Being snowed in can have it’s advantages. After doing the laundry and cleaning the living room, I will no try to summarise the year 2009 on the Dublin Community Blog.

Gloomy January showed us that the recession is in full swing, as Dublin indie institution Road Records was forced to close its doors (which thankfully re-opened later due to massive support from many a successfull Irish musician) and Dublin Bus announced massive cutbacks, laying off 200 staff. Add some snow causing massive disruptions to traffic and you had a very bleak start into the new year.

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The winner of the second annual Dublin Soul Award was announced recently after six months of searching. Organisers surprised the eventual winner, Joan Freeman, Psychologist and Founder of Pieta House, the Centre for the Prevention of Self-Harm and Suicide, as she went about her daily routine.

Pieta House offer a holistic solution and groundbreaking approach involving daily, one-to-one counselling for people who have attempted to take their lives or for people who have engaged in self-harming behaviours. Pieta House provide coping mechanisms for people who are in crisis and aim to move the suicidal person away from ideas of suicide as quickly as possible by helping them to identify reasons to live. Their intensive approach is remarkably effective and available for free to those in need.

The Dublin Soul Award, part of the Dublin City Soul Festival, was launched in May 2008 and are a search for Dublin’s most outstanding soul. Once again Organisers were hoping to uncover some truly remarkable stories of Dubliners who regularly and selflessly give up their time and invest their energy to help others, making a real difference in the local community and believe they found a truly deserving winner for 2009 in the guise of Joan Freeman – Founder of Pieta House.

As winner, Joan Freeman was presented with an exclusive Soul Festival glass plaque, and of course the title of ‘Outstanding Dublin Soul’.

Joan Freeman said; “Firstly I am so honoured to be even considered for this beautiful award – however I can only accept it on behalf of the organisation rather than as an individual. Anyone can have a vision – but it takes many, many souls to carry through that vision. Pieta house is a wonderful success – because of the staff, the volunteers and because of the public. But it is because of the belief and the trust of the people in crisis who attend Pieta house – makes it a honour for us all to work there.”

The Dublin Soul Awards were launched in 2008 as part of the annual Dublin City Soul Festival, last years winner was Brother Kevin Crowley of the Capuchin Day Centre.

Chris Maher, Founder of the Awards said; “We are delighted to have found such a worthy winner again this year. The work Joan and her team do is absolutely vital and they deserve all the praise and support possible for providing such a life saving service.”

The Dublin City Soul Festival, which was launched in May 2007 was designed as a positive feel-great celebration for the people of Ireland. The festival is committed to promoting Dublin and Ireland as a major tourist destination, in addition to promoting community spirit.

Aside from the growing annual festival event which has attracted over 35,000 people annually, generating an estimated €6 million for the Irish economy they have also established a charity – the ‘Musical Youth Foundation’ (CHY#18624) which aims to provide musical instruments and tuition for underprivileged children.

In 2008, as part of their dedication to promoting positive activity within the local community the Dublin City Soul Festival launched the ‘Dublin Soul Awards’, designed to recognise the tireless work of volunteers and outstanding ‘Dublin Souls’ within the local and wider community.

They presented the inaugural Dublin Soul Award to Brother Kevin Crowley, founder of the Capuchin Day Centre in November 2008. Brother Kevin and his team of volunteers are serving over 500 free meals a day to homeless people in the city and is truly ‘an outstanding Dublin Soul’ and a worthy winner of the first annual Dublin Soul Award.

They are now seeking nominations for 2009…and would welcome any suggestions. If you know someone who regularly and selflessly gives up their time and invests their energy to help others, someone making a real difference to the lives of others within the local community please e-mail chris@dublincitysoulfestival.ie with some basic details and he will be in touch!

I also think that this would be a great opportunity to promote some of Dublin’s ‘good souls’ via the comments section of the blog below. Who knows, we may even do some feature pieces on those that we feel are truly stand-out and worthy of a mention.

Well, I did say the other day that I wasn’t expecting this blog to win Best Group Blog at the Irish Blog Awards, but I’m starting to get news filter this way that in fact we have! A massive thank you to all involved, this really is a group effort and everyone who has been involved past and present deserves a big pat on the back for all their work!

Hopefully the party in Cork goes really well. Slightly raging that the first year I’m not there we win, but these things happen, I’m sure everyone will have a good time for me! For anyone not in Cork, keep an eye on #iba09 on Twitter for all the updates!

EDIT: (Red Mum) – February 24th – to include a pic of our lovely award.