EirGrid GAA Community Heroes: Annaghdown Camogie's Marie Turkington Named National Volunteer of the Year
Marie Turkington of Annaghdown Camogie Club in County Galway has been named the national winner of the EirGrid GAA Community Heroes award for 2026, with the energy company's annual campaign honouring the volunteers who form the backbone of club life across Ireland — the people who show up before the players arrive and leave long after the final whistle.
Background
The EirGrid GAA Community Heroes initiative has run for several years as a partnership between the state energy company and the Gaelic Athletic Association, recognising that the GAA's extraordinary reach into Irish community life — encompassing over 2,200 clubs across the island — is sustained almost entirely by voluntary effort. From coaching underage teams to maintaining pitches, organising fundraisers, and running club shops, the work of GAA volunteers is largely invisible to the wider public yet utterly essential to the organisation's functioning.
Annaghdown GAA Club, situated on the eastern shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, is one of those clubs where the boundary between the club and the community is effectively non-existent. The parish of Annaghdown has a population of just a few thousand, and the GAA club — which fields teams in both football and camogie — serves as a focal point for social life across the area, particularly for younger residents who might otherwise have limited access to organised sport and recreation.
Marie Turkington has been a central figure at Annaghdown Camogie Club for many years, taking on roles that range from the administrative to the pastoral. Those who nominated her described a woman who is invariably the first to arrive and the last to leave, who remembers the names of every player's parents, and who has quietly supported families going through difficult times without ever drawing attention to her own contribution.
Key Developments
Turkington's nomination was submitted by fellow club members who wanted to ensure that her contribution — which they described as "the kind of work that holds everything together" — received the recognition it deserved. The EirGrid judging panel, which reviews nominations from clubs across all 32 counties, selected her as the national winner from a field of provincial winners representing Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster.
In accepting the award, Turkington was characteristically modest, directing attention to her fellow volunteers at Annaghdown and to the players whose commitment to the club makes the work worthwhile. "The girls are the reason we do it," she said. "When you see them develop — not just as players but as young women — that's all the reward you need."
EirGrid's chief executive noted that the award reflects the company's recognition that the communities it serves are held together by people like Marie Turkington, and that supporting the GAA's volunteer network is a meaningful way of investing in those communities. The company has committed to continuing the Community Heroes initiative as part of its broader community engagement programme.
Why It Matters
The GAA's volunteer model is, by any measure, one of the most remarkable civic institutions in Ireland. The association estimates that over 500,000 people volunteer in some capacity across its clubs each year — a figure that, if translated into paid employment, would represent one of the largest workforces in the country. The economic value of this voluntary contribution has been estimated at hundreds of millions of euros annually, though such calculations inevitably fail to capture the social and cultural value that clubs like Annaghdown provide.
For camogie specifically, the volunteer infrastructure is particularly critical. The sport has grown significantly in recent years — participation at underage level has increased by over 30% since 2020 — but this growth has placed additional demands on clubs that are already stretched. The women and men who give their time to camogie clubs are, in many cases, the difference between a club that thrives and one that struggles to field a team.
Turkington's recognition also sends a signal about the value placed on women's sport volunteering, an area that has historically received less public acknowledgement than its male equivalent despite being equally vital to the health of the GAA as a whole.
Local Impact
In Annaghdown, the news of Turkington's national award was met with genuine celebration. The club's social media channels were flooded with messages of congratulation from across Galway and beyond, with former players — many of whom have since moved to Galway city, Dublin, or further afield — sharing memories of the role she played in their development. The local parish priest offered a special mention at Sunday Mass, and the club is planning a community celebration in the coming weeks.
For the young players currently coming through the Annaghdown underage system, the award offers a tangible reminder that the people who give their time to their club are valued — not just by the club itself but by the wider community and, in this case, by a national audience. That message, club officials hope, will inspire the next generation of volunteers to step forward when their time comes.
What's Next
EirGrid will formally present the national award to Marie Turkington at a ceremony in the coming weeks, with the date and venue to be confirmed. The company will also profile all provincial winners across its communications channels throughout the autumn. Annaghdown Camogie Club's senior team continues its county championship campaign, with the club hoping that the positive attention surrounding the award will help with fundraising efforts ahead of planned pitch improvement works scheduled for early 2027.
