Hilltown woman honoured by Great Game Fairs

Leading female angler, Hilltown woman Madeleine Kelly, has been honoured with The Great Game Fairs of Ireland Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards, made each year at the Irish Game Fair at Fine Food Festival held at Shanes Castle, Antrim, are designed to recognise and reward outstanding individuals who devote themselves to nurturing our rural heritage.

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Presenting Madeleine with her Award, Albert Titterington, Managing Director of The Great Game Fairs of Ireland, said, “It is an absolute pleasure each year to have the opportunity publicly to recognise some of the outstanding members of the ‘Game Show family’ who commit their time, talents and enthusiasm to preserving rural traditions and promoting countrysports.

“These people work tirelessly behind-the-scenes and without any thought of reward and Madeleine – ‘Maddy’ to her friends in angling circles – epitomises that blend of modesty and high achievement.

“Madeleine has been a member of the Irish Ladies Fly Fishing Team on no less than twenty occasions and has captained the team six times – tremendous achievements in a wonderful sporting career from a woman who just seems to get better with every passing season.

“Her graceful, seemingly effortless casting style is a delight to watch and inspires male and female anglers with awe, if not envy!

“Although she can certainly be competitive when called upon, Maddy is incredibly generous with her mentoring of others and she is always ready to share her skills and insights,” he continued.

“In particular she is passionate about ‘passing on the baton’ to young people who may be discovering angling for the first time and she has worked hard to introduce children and young people to her chosen sport.

“Above all, Maddy is determined to encourage other women to follow her lead and she has been the driving force behind a great many initiatives designed to encourage female participation in a sport which has, traditionally, been dominated by men. 

Albert added, “I have no doubt that she will maintain this focus for the future and we wish her continued success in opening the sport to more women. Angling is fortunate to have such a passionate and capable advocate.”

Madeleine Kelly is pictured above (left) receiving award and congratulations from Paul Pringle, Communications Director of The Great Game Fairs of Ireland.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Jul 22 2019. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry