Father Peter McVerry was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement accolade at last night’s Pride of Ireland awards.
Hosted by The Saturdays star Una Foden, the awards were held last night at the Mansion House in Dublin and celebrated some of Ireland’s bravest heroes.
Fr McVerry has been working with homeless people for forty years and established the Peter McVerry trust in 1983 “to tackle drug misuse, homelessness and social disadvantage”.
The seventy-year-old priest gave an acceptance speech at the awards ceremony according to the Irish Mirror.
He said: “It is a privilege to be given this award and I accept it, not for myself but for all the people who help me help others, the people who work tirelessly and without glory or thanks, without awards or ceremonies.
“They help others because it’s the right thing to do.
“I also accept the award for all those people we help, the people the Government have not helped and refuse so often to see.
“The homeless in Ireland are not a problem, they are simply people who have come upon difficult times and circumstances”.
Fr Peter McVerry went on to add “Homelessness is a political problem this country has the ability to bring to an end, and until that happens, I’ll do all I can”.
John O’Donoghue was given the Child of Courage award because the brave karate champion saved his father’s life when he grabbed the nose of a 520kg bull and proceeded to calm him down.
Tony and Mary Heffernan have lost both their children, Saoirse and Liam, to Batten’s disease, a rare degenerative brain disorder.
The couple received the award for fundraiser of the year thanks to their tireless campaigning in a bid to improve life for children with rare genetic diseases.
The awards ceremony can be viewed in full on TV3 tomorrow night at 9pm.
