Health Minister Robin Swann is to address the 25th annual Aisling Awards gala on Saturday 4 December in the Europa Hotel.

Returning to an in-person format after being broadcast online only in 2020, the community awards celebration, with lead sponsor Open University, will take Rebuilding as its theme.

Minister Swann, who has led the Stormont Executive's response to Covid, will be the first unionist Guest of Honour at the gala which has previously been addressed by Martin McGuinness, Mary McAleese, President Michael D Higgins and the Rev Jesse Jackson. 

GUEST OF HONOUR: Minister Robin Swann visiting the Houben Centre in North Belfast.
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GUEST OF HONOUR: Minister Robin Swann visiting the Houben Centre in North Belfast.

The engagement will bring the Ulster Unionist Party representative back to the Europa ballroom where he was attacked by Van Morrison after the singer was unable to hold a gig during lockdown - a broadside which is now the subject of a defamation action.

The prestigious Person of the Year Award will go to two veteran educationalists and community leaders who have dedicated their lives to the people of West Belfast: Eilish Rooney and Monica Culbert.

Both collaborated in the Aisling Bursaries programme which has raised almost £750,000 from local businesses for further education bursaries over the past two decades. 

FULL-FORCE GAEL: Monica Culbert (second from right) hosting a under 14 GAA tournament at St Gall's GAC pitches.
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FULL-FORCE GAEL: Monica Culbert (second from right) hosting a under 14 GAA tournament at St Gall's GAC pitches.

As chairperson of St Gall's GAC, Monica Culbert has been a tireless promoter of Gaelic game. She also served as chair of the board of governors of De La Salle College in Andersonstown and served on the Education Authority. As principal of Good Shepherd Nursery in Poleglass, Monica fought for equal educational provision for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

A senior lecturer at the Transitional Justice Institute at the University of Ulster and, like Monica, a native of West Belfast, Eilish Rooney has been an outspoken advocate for community empowerment throughout her life. She has pioneered programmes with women's groups in particular and led a "truly inspirational" cross-community initiative in North Belfast between residents of the New Lodge and Tiger's Bay. 

COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR: Eilish Rooney
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COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR: Eilish Rooney

Eilish worked closely with the late Fr Des and enthusiastically supported his Springhill Community House and Conway Mill educational projects. More recently, she was a bedrock of support for the Ballymurphy Massacre families and published a book of poems about the inquest and verdicts.

Awards will also be presented in a range of categories at the Aisling gala including Education, Business, Sport and Arts & Culture. There will be special awards for a project from an Urban Villages area and for promoting wellbeing as society emerges from the worst of the Covid crisis. Additional sponsors of this year's awards include The Movie House, the Kennedy Centre, George Best Belfast City Airport, Phoenix Natural Gas, Sean Graham, Foras na Gaeilge, TG4, Mercury Security & Facilities Management, Medicare, TG4 and Urban Villages. 

Said Belfast Media Group chief editor Robin Livingstone: "This will be a monumental milestone for a city and a community rebuilding from Covid and give us all an opportunity to salute the grassroots heroes who are making a real difference in Belfast."

While the return of the Aisling Awards to its Europa Hotel base does signal an easing of the Covid storm, the event will still observe full Covid protocols with admission restricted to the fully vaccinated. For full details, visit the Aisling Awards website.