A LIVERPOOL charity has become the latest recipient of the Ireland Fund of Great Britain annual prize.
Irish Community Care Merseyside was presented with the award at the Irish Embassy in London.
“I have to say we were absolutely delighted to win,” director Breege McDaid said. “It completely came out of the blue, we weren’t expecting it at all.”
The award has come after decades of hard work in Merseyside helping generations of Irish people.
ICCM has been in operation since the 1960s and exists to help the Irish and Irish Traveller communities in Britain.
It provides a range of services, from training and employment advice to help for those struggling with drug or alcohol abuse.
The services provided to the community are all free of charge.
The organisation celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, with Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall among those present at the festivities.
2014 marked 25 years in operation as a charity and 50 years as an organisation, giving the staff of ICCM a special silver and gold double celebration.
Following on from this milestone, Ms McDaid believes this week’s award will give the organisation a further boost.
“For us, it’s a national endorsement,” she told The Irish Post. “It shows the importance of the work we do and the extensive reach of our services.”
Every year, the Ireland Fund of Great Britain rewards the work of an Irish organisation in the country with a special prize.
In addition, IFGB provides funding to these organisations on a regular basis, to ensure they continue to provide these key services to the Irish community in Britain.
Since 1996, ICCM alone has been funded almost £40,000 by the IFGB.
On the night itself, Ambassador Mulhall was on hand once again to congratulate the hard workers of ICCM, which is run by just 16 staff and its volunteers.
Also present at the Embassy were a host of familiar faces from Irish businesses all around Britain.
Looking forward from the award, Ms McDaid is confident that ICCM will continue to grow.
“It will be good for the profile of our organisation,” she said. “There were lots of business people from the Irish community in Britain at the Embassy the night we accepted the award and it will give them food for thought.”
“The knock-on effect will be us connecting with other organisations around the country,” she added.
