FIVE individuals and groups from Co Donegal have been shortlisted in this year’s 2025 Ocean Hero Awards.
Winners will be awarded the title of Ocean Hero in one of nine categories at a ceremony in Dublin on International Volunteer Day on December 5.
The awards pay tribute to people and groups who are championing coastal care and protection in their communities.
In Donegal, the following groups and individuals have been shortlisted: Rathmullan Tidy Towns & Coastal Care; Fanad Coastal Group; Patricia McAteer – White Harte Bar, Rathmullan; Hazel Russell; and Fanad Coastal Group with Loreto Community School Milford.
The awards have grown from a single category in 2006, to honouring 45 groups and individuals in nine categories in 2025: Group of Year, Community Champion, Youth Initiative, Campaign Ambassador, Leadership, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, Nature Guardian, Community Action, and Emerging Group Awards.
Bronagh Moore, Clean Coasts Programme Manager, said: “Community groups and volunteers are the heartbeat of An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme. Every year the Ocean Hero Awards affords us the opportunity to celebrate and showcase all the amazing work that these volunteers do, in their own time, all over the country.
“The event is always an inspiring and uplifting occasion that serves as a reminder of the power of community and how together, we can overcome the challenges we face in protecting and caring for our coastline, ocean, marine life and waterways.”
