Local councillor elected national president of community games
Newly appointed president of the National Community Games, Paul Doogue, with his wife Elaine
CARLOW councillor Paul Doogue has been elected president of the National Community Games association on Saturday 12 September.
The presidency was put to a vote among county delegates who gathered at the AGM of National Cairn Community Games at Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar.
A maximum of three delegates per county are allowed to represent their county and vote. A total of 52 delegates from different counties attended.
Cllr Doogue competed for the role against Tony McCarry from Donegal. He succeeded in getting the majority of votes, with the end result being 40-12.
He said he was "thrilled" and "taken aback" with the result and that he is "truly honoured" to preside over "an organisation that puts so much into the children of the country".
As many as 170,000 children from all over Ireland take part in the games each year, competing in 45 different activities. They start in one of 400 local areas, progress to county level, then to provincial level and finally compete at the national games. Carlow is set to host the national finals for the third year in a row in 2027.
"This is the first time since the games took place some 59 years ago that Carlow had a person put forward for the role as president and I was honoured to accept the position," said cllr Doogue.
He thanked the Graiguecullen area for nominating him and the County Carlow group for putting him forward for the position. Finally, he thanked his wife Elaine for all her support over the years.
