Text Box: Athy Community College principal, Richard Daly, was last night honoured with the award of Athy Person of the Year by the Athy Chamber of Commerce at their annual Harvest Ball in Kilkea Castle. The president of the Chamber Jim Lawler in presenting the award gave the following citation: "Those who have witnessed Richard Daly nurture the germ of a dream for a new Community College into a fast approaching reality stand in awe of his ability and energy, drive and motivation to attain nothing but the best for Athy. The Dept. of Education and Science's recent commitment to establish Athy Community College - a state of the art educational institution on a 10-acre green-field site may - be credited to Richard Daly's breath of vision and the scope of his initiative. Throughout the past decade Richard has proactively and positively promoted Athy's profile through every channel of communication. A guiding light behind Athy's bid to become an Information Age Town, Richard has presented Athy in the national media and to international corporations as a focal point on the global information super-highway. Richard's vision for a community college is for an all-inclusive, all-embracing centre of excellence - an educational and community focus for everyone in Athy and its environs." In accepting his award, which was sponsored by Perry Motors, Richard, who is seldom stuck for a word was speechless but after gathering his thoughts said he was receiving the award for doing his job and urged all sections of the community to work together for the common good of the town. The proposed hotel complex was earlier in the day refused planning by the Planning Board. This news was met with major disappointment at the function but Richards advice to the developers was not to give up and this was met with cheers of approval from all at the gathering.

Chamber President, Jim Lawler, Richard and Celine Daly and Bryan Doherty, Chamber PRO
Person of the Year 2002