THE unwavering support for the family of Damian McGovern, a GAA stalwart, who died this week shows the affection that members of the organisation have for one another.

It is this community spirit of rallying around and being there through thick and thin that inspires people like Anna McKenna from Kinawley to assist others day in, day out.

Indeed, the fact that Mrs. McKenna, who is married to former GAA star Paul McKenna, has become a tower of strength within her community is one of the reasons why she has been nominated for a community hero award. But then helping others inside and outside her beloved GAA club Kinawley Brian Borús has always been in her blood, she admits.

“I am absolutely delighted and humbled about the award nomination. But in all organisations there are so many people who do a lot of work,” said Mrs. McKenna.

The modest mother of two tells The Impartial Reporter that she feels “very blessed” to know and work with many people in her area who contribute to the community.

The playgroup leader at Little Treasures mixes her day job with her love for her local GAA team, blending her two passions together in the hope of “promoting community spirit.” “The GAA in Kinawley plays a big huge part in community life, it involves both men and women and caters for all age groups. The club is very good and opens up its facilities to members. I work closely with parents of children in the play group. There are parents of different nationalities, and we introduce them to each other because we think it is very important. It’s lovely to get them involved. Getting people involved in the community is very important and that’s what I try to do,” said Mrs. McKenna.

The current secretary of the Fermanagh Ladies GAA team says she sees many benefits within the community because of the club and tries to utilise that for the good of local people.

“One thing about our club is that there are a lot of very active women in it. My passion is football because I grew up loving it, I married a club and county man - I had no choice - and my children Erin (10) and Tiernan (14) are very active in the sport.

“We have a very good youth structure at the minute and they see the older players as role models and they see the role of women in the club. I think gone are the days when we were just the cleaners and making sandwiches,” she said.

Mrs. McKenna has a great interest in childcare and enjoys working with children with special needs, including her 15 year old nephew Lochlainn Drumm.

“I love making him a part of everything, he’s fantastic and loves helping out. It is great to make him feel part of the community. My background is in childcare and I love seeing children like him achieve at different levels. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t able to be part of the teams, even just the committees, something so they can develop.

“My hope is that young people become part of their football club and part of their community. I want them to achieve everything they want and learn new skills and be good community people,” she said.

Ms. McKenna says she is “very excited” about the awards ceremony next week and added: “I am proud and very humble, I am a bit reluctant to accept this nomination because there are so many people who are doing such great work in the community. There is no ‘I’ in team, this is for them and my family,” she said.