The Irish Security Industry
Association (ISIA) hosted the ISIA Awards on Saturday 1st November at the
Powerscourt Hotel. The awards were
attended by over 230 individuals from the private security industry and senior
management from a variety of industries.
Also in attendance were members of the Private Security Authority, An
Garda Síochána and His Excellency, Dominick Chilcott, British Ambassador to
Ireland. The MC on the night was Sinead
Desmond of TV3.
As pointed out by ISIA President, Sheenagh McCullagh “The ISIA Awards
gives us an opportunity to celebrate our industry leaders and their
people”. McCullagh thanked all those
members “who came to the event to celebrate their employees success” and she
paid tribute to all those who submitted nominations this year. “It is evidence of ISIA member’s dedication
to excellence, that they take the time to consider those individuals and teams
that help make their company a leader in the security industry”. There were ten awards presented on the
night.
The Premier Award
The Premier Award, sponsored by
Noonan, was this year bestowed upon Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for the
contribution that her visit in 2011 and the reciprocal state visit by President
Michael D. Higgins to the UK have made to solidify the new era of peace within
which we now live. The award was
accepted on her behalf by His Excellency, Dominick Chilcott, British Ambassador
to Ireland. The Ambassador addressed the
members of the ISIA and emphasised that he was ‘very proud to collect the award
on Her Majesty’s behalf’. His Excellency
finished his speech with the words of Queen Elizabeth spoken during the State
Visit of President Michael D. Higgins to the United Kingdom. “My visit to Ireland and your visit this
week, Mr President, show that we are walking together towards a brighter, more
settled future. We will remember our past, but we shall no longer allow our
past to ensnare our future. This is the greatest gift we can give to succeeding
generations."
The Courage Award
This year’s Courage Award was
presented to Mark Pollock of the Mark Pollock Trust and was sponsored by
G4S. Pollock was unbroken by blindness
in 1998 and went to complete numerous ultra-endurance challenges. In 2010 Pollock was then left paralysed after
falling from a second story window.
Through the Mark Pollock Trust, he is now on a mission to find and
connect people around the world to fast track a cure for paralysis. The President of the ISIA, Sheenagh McCullagh
said, ‘Mark is such an incredible man and an incredibly worthy recipient of the
courage award. It was an honour to be
able to present it to him’.
Security Officer of the Year
The award for Security Officer
of the Year was presented to Jonathan Waters of Synergy Security Solutions and
was sponsored by Arantico. Waters was
presented this award for the exceptional service and outstanding contribution
he makes as a store detective at Boots Ireland.
There were also four merit award recipients on the night; Paul
Bridgeman, Synergy Security Solutions; Robert Delaney, Synergy Security
Solutions; Darragh Lawlor, NOONAN and Micheál Moylan, G4S.
Security Supervisor of the Year
The award for Security
Supervisor of the Year was presented to Terence Murphy, Synergy Security
Solutions, for the outstanding work he carries out at a multi-national cork
based technology company where he supervises a team of officers. There were three merit award recipients on
the night; Adrian Duffy, Synergy Security Solutions; Vitalijus Durkovas, G4S
and Warren Humphrey’s, G4S. This award
was sponsored by JW Balfour.
Event Security Person of the Year
The winner of the Event Security
Person of the Year award, sponsored by Hytera and RSP, was Derek O’Rourke,
Pulse Security Management, who was specifically nominated for the work he
carries out as an Event Security Supervisor at the Aviva Stadium. Trevor Goode of Brinks Ireland was presented
with a merit award for the event security work he carries out for ESB and Croke
Park.
Electronic Security Technician of the Year
The award for Electronic Security
Technician of the Year, sponsored by IC Realtime, was presented to Cormac
Sullivan of Brinks Ireland who works with a variety of their key clients. There were three merit award recipients on
the night; John Berkery and Billy Hills of Stanley Security and Adrian Jones of
MTS Security.
Electronic Security Supervisor of the Year
The award for Electronic Security
Supervisor of the Year was presented to Martin Mills of MTS Security who is their
Support Desk Supervisor. There were
three merit award recipients on the night; Phil Ledwith and Darren McCormack of
G4S and Austin O’Sullivan of Brinks Ireland.
Innovation in Security
There were four finalists
selected for this award; Action Security and Alarm Control 24, All Security
Mobile Shredding, Brinks in Partnership with Arantico, and Stanley Security. . The
award was sponsored by Bosch and the winner was Action Security and Alarm
Control 24. “The submission was based on
their development of a nationwide radio network for the monitoring of security
systems”, stated Sarah O’Donnell, Communications Director, ISIA. O’Donnell added “it was clear from the
selection process that not only with this development, but in general, innovation
is part of the day to day culture of Action Security and Alarm Control
24”.
ISIA Locksmith of the Year
A customer’s choice award,
clients of ISIA members were invited to complete a survey and provide feedback
on their locksmith of choice. Survey
respondents were asked to rate their locksmith in terms of customer service,
quality of work and technical knowledge.
There were three finalists; Crothers Security, Fogarty Lock and Safe and
J. Williams. The overall winner of this
year’s ISIA Locksmith of the Year award was J. Williams.
Community Contribution Award
Earlier this year Darragh Lawlor of NOONAN played a part in saving his
Uncle’s life, who had a heart attack at Ladbrokes in Swords. Crucial to Lawlor being able to assist with
this was a defibrillator held at the Pavilions Shopping Centre where Lawlor is
assigned as a Security Officer. What
Lawlor did next was beyond anyone’s expectations. He recognised how critical the defibrillator
had been in saving his uncle’s life and recognised the lack of other
defibrillators in Swords. He set up a
Facebook page to raise awareness and campaign to get a Defibrillator for the
main street of Swords. Through his
efforts he exceeded his initial goal to get one defibrillator on Swords Main
street, but managed to ensure that two were placed in different locations with
24/7 access. He also arranged for
individuals to be trained in the use of the defibrillators. Lawlor’s efforts not only ensured that his
Uncle’s life was saved, but will have the potential to save more lives in the
future. Darragh Lawlor is not only a
hero to his family, but a hero to the community of Swords and all who visit
there.
.jpg)
