Slieve Bloom Memorial walk and awards honour the late Laois legend Mick Dowling

The announcement of the first winners of the Mick Dowling Memorial Fund was appropriately announced in conjunction with Memorial Walk for Mick in his beloved Slieve Blooms held to mark the first anniversary of his passing.

The walk was organised by Laois Public Participation Network (PPN) in partnership with Laois Tourism and Laois Tour Guides Forum. Dan Bergin Laois PPN Resource Worker.

"The walk was a wonderful way to mark the memory of our friend Mick Dowling in his beloved Slieve Bloom mountains. The walk included members of the Dowling family, friends and Community Groups. There were two groups lead by Shane Dowling and Trudy Camody followed by refreshments provided by Laois Tour Guides Forum," he said.

During his life, Mick was actively involved in the setup and work of a number of community groups along with being a member of the Laois PPN Secretariat.

Mick was a much respected Camross man and devoted his life to promoting his native County and in particular his beloved Slieve Blooms. He was one of the original members of the Slieve Bloom Development Association, Laois Heritage Society and later Laois Tourism. Mick was founder and chairman of the Laois Tour Guides Forum and founder of the Camross Active Retirement Group. 

Mick was a historian, tour guide, hurler, ambassador of Laois and a true gent whos way with words and telling of a tale was legendary. A true blue and white man of Laois,  Mick also sported the black and amber of his native Camross winning six County Championships in his days on the hurling field. 

Laois PPN in honour of  Mick Dowling launched the Mick Dowling Memorial Fund. Applications were accepted from each of the three municipal districts with the winner in each being awarded €1,000.

Dan Bergin said Laois PPN Resource Worker was delighted to announce the winners of Fund.

The winners are:

Camross Parish Development Association (Borris in Ossory / Mountmellick Municipal District)

Portarlington Social Services - Meals on Wheels (Graiguecullen / Portarlington Municipal District)

Laois Tour Guides Forum (Portlaoise Municipal District)

The applications were reviewed by three judges including a member of the Dowling Family in October with the winners announced via the Laois PPN Newsletter in November 2020. Laois PPN would like to thank all our groups who submitted applications and congratulate the winners of the Mick Dowling Memorial Fund."

Laois PPN has nearly 600 groups under 3 pillars which are Community, Environmental and Social Inclusion. If any groups wish to register visit www.laoisppn.ie. Registered groups are given the opportunity to take part in events and receive a wide variety of training.