The Woman’s Way and Beko Mum of the Year Awards 2021 took place in the stunning setting of the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin recently, shining a light on some truly inspiring mums.

Louise Lynam from County Laois, was named the prestigious title of Overall Mum of the Year 2021. Veronica ‘Fron’ Butler scooped this year’s Celebrity Mum of the Year Award which was presented by her son James Patrice.

New mum and Justice Minister Helen McEntee, TD was awarded with a special recognition award. The Meath native became the first cabinet minister in Irish history to take paid maternity leave while in office earlier this year.

However, it wasn’t just the main winners who were celebrated at the special luncheon. In fact, each of our incredible ‘Mums of the Month’ were honoured. Each winner was presented with a certificate and bestowed with a handcrafted flower crown from Kays Flower School at the event.  

Head of the Judging Panel Norah Casey commented; “After a difficult time, we are honoured to be back here celebrating the Woman’s Way and Beko Mum of the Year Awards. A common theme we celebrate is how the true heroes of our society are the mums who hold family and community together, who care for their loved ones, old and young.

The last two years have added even more obstacles than usual and yet again mothers have been to the fore. We are thrilled to have all the winning Mums here today, all of whom are inspirational.”

Now let’s meet each of our truly inspiring ‘Mums of the Month.’

Ciara Jones, Co Dublin

Ciara Jones is not only a loving mother to three and a wife but a strong advocate for parents with special needs children, amplifying their voices and raising much-needed funds to provide support. The pandemic was especially tough for Ciara who lost her mother, Margaret, to the coronavirus and soon after, her husband lost his job. Despite the devastating loss, Ciara had been busy homeschooling three children - her eldest son Gavin has autism.

Ciara has been a strong supporter of various charities such as AsIAm, Ireland’s National Autism Charity, and her own support hub. She has also been raising the need for support for families of special needs children in the media. Ciara and her stepson Michael also organised an annual five-kilometre run for autism a few years ago. Before the lockdown, they raised enough money to help 400 families. They now have 1200 families registered, after the virtual run the two of them hosted last year.

She also participated in a parachute jump for local disability groups around the country.

Louise Lynam, Co Laois 

Health care assistant at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, Louise Lynam is a single mother of two girls, Jessica and Kiera, who has been working on the frontline since the start of the pandemic. She has taken her role of protecting the children from being exposed to Covid-19 extremely seriously and for months felt unable to even kiss her daughter Kiera goodnight when putting her to bed due to Kiera being high-risk.

Louise found out Kiera had cystic fibrosis a few weeks after she was born and at five years old, Kiera developed a chronic lung infection which depleted her energy and caused serious complications with her health.

However, in 2018 following lobbying of the government by Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, a new drug called Orkambi was approved. This drug changed Kiera’s life immensely - for the better. Despite this, as a single parent and a frontline worker, Louise was naturally anxious about continuing to work in the emergency department while also caring for Kiera but thankfully, Louise had a great support system to lean on to get them through the difficult time.

Karen Vickers, Co Meath

Karen Vickers is a first time mum to daughter Olivia who is two years old. As a mum, she has been tested more than most. Olivia was diagnosed with a rare and serious genetic neuromuscular condition called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1. In a race against time, she and her fiancé Keith Mulhern began a life-saving fundraising drive to raise €1 million so that Livie could avail of a life-saving gene therapy drug -  dubbed the most expensive in the world - available in the States.

Karen did that and then some, garnering the hearts of a nation and achieving the fundraising target.

A Better Life For Livie became a fundraising page, generating support from across Ireland. It has attracted widespread support from the media and the public with country stars Daniel O’Donnell, Nathan Carter and Mike Denver doing a charity concert to help their cause. In October last year, the €1 million target was reached, Livie received her treatment and, better still, she had it here in Ireland.

By December, Karen and Keith were looking forward to a very different Christmas and thankfully, Livie is getting healthier and stronger in her recovery.

Lorna Murray Cahill, Co Dublin

Mum of two Lorna Murray Cahill was just 28 when she was told she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). But she’s using her zest for life to show that a diagnosis doesn’t have to define you.

Lorna had just been married to Shane only six months when she first received her diagnosis. Nearly 11 years on, Lorna doesn’t let MS define her - she is also mum to Harry and Sophia, wife, sister, daughter and friend.

Lorna works in a community hub for adults with intellectual disabilities and wanted to take her experience of living with MS and use it to show people that a diagnosis doesn’t have to be the end of life as you know it. She decided to take action and joined the MS Ireland May 50k fundraising challenge, which involved walking or running 50 kilometres to raise money for research into MS.

Lorna not only smashed the distance, walking 150K instead but the fundraising too. So far, she has raised over €5,000.

Avril Ronan, Co Cork

Mum of two, Avril Ronan, has a tough job, but it’s one a lot of parents and teachers around the country are grateful that she does. Avril is the Global Programme Manager for the Internet Safety for Kids and Families Programme (ISKF) with Trend Micro, a global cyber security solutions company. She runs free internet safety workshops with the help of a team of volunteers.

Children have been on screens and devices more than ever due to lockdowns and the pandemic. While it was necessary for their education, parents worried about how it would affect their lives in the future.

Avril has an 11-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son, so she has first-hand experience of raising children in the digital era. Almost 500 people attended the first cyber safety webinar that Avril ran last February.

The pandemic has meant that parents and schools are now much more open to online meetings. That means that she can reach even more people now than ever before.

Joanna Pearman, Co Longford

Longford mum Joanna Pearman has volunteered whenever she saw a gap in services and something that needed to be done. Joanna relocated to Ardagh in Longford when her three children were small and she's been volunteering locally ever since.

Joanna is the type of person that will go above and beyond to make sure the extra things have been done in her town. It started with a mum and toddler group, then the Longford branch of Coder Dojo and the Ardagh Preservation Society. But her biggest passion is for the Girl Guides, where she has been volunteering for the last 13 years.

Volunteering during Covid wasn’t always easy but Joanna didn’t let the Guides or Brownies fall by the wayside during the lockdown. A piano teacher by trade, she had also started giving Zoom lessons to two of her students very early on in the pandemic. Their mother was vulnerable and Joanna was worried the students would fall behind.

Joanna believes that the more you volunteer, the easier it can be because you build up a network of people you can ask to help. Asking is key. Most people don’t often realise that they could be of use, but once you ask them directly, they’re very willing to help.

Joanne Payne, Co Antrim Co Down

Joanne Payne is the matriarch of a family with an incredible five generations of women ranging from her 102-year-old grandmother to her three-month-old granddaughter. Sadly the matriarch, Joanne Payne, lives with terminal cancer and has been on a cancer journey since she was first diagnosed, shortly after her daughter Chelsea was born.

Joanne first had a hysterectomy and later, her bowel was removed so she now uses a stoma bag. As a single mother to Chelsea and an older son, Jordon, Joanne knows what it's like to beat the odds. She was told she would never have kids and was just about to begin her fertility journey when she discovered she was pregnant. Three years later, after Joanne had been told to throw away her contraceptives, she had her daughter Chelsea.

Joanne refuses to let the fact that she has a stoma bag make her feel less attractive or womanly and is a member of a support group for stoma users. Through that group, she has met both men and women and, she has even modelled specialist underwear for women with stoma bags.

Joanne won't let cancer stop her from doing the things she wants to do. We think her perseverance is inspiring.

Lisa Kirwan, Co Dublin

Lisa Kirwan is a mother of four, wife, nurse, sister, godmother and anything else she needs to be - she doesn’t stop. Lisa is a fantastic support to all of her siblings whenever they need help, whatever the reason.

Lisa has been described as an extremely strong person by friends and family and this year she showed just how strong she is. And while the last year or two has been tough on most people, Lisa has been through a lot. Not only did Lisa help with the pandemic as a frontline worker, but she also fell pregnant and had a baby girl. She then underwent surgery and had to move out of her home due to Pyrite  - all the while continuing to be the solid support system she is to her family, offering to babysit and listen to their problems.

It's been said that spending time with Lisa has a way of helping you forget your troubles and we hope that this recognition will return the favour.

Joanna Coomey, Co Cork 

A brilliant mother of two, wife and all-around person, Joanna Coomey is the type of person to give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. Joanna nursed her husband while he battled cancer for two years and just after he recovered, she was diagnosed with Leukaemia and only starting her journey.

Despite her struggles, Joanna was still caught making a packed lunch for her daughter before work (who is 24 years old and very adamant she can make her own lunch!) and insists on still being the supportive foundation in their family. Joanna is an active member of the Carrigtwohill Community - cooking for Meals on Wheels and volunteering to collect money at the monthly car boot sale. She is also an avid baker, who shares her delicious baked goods with not only her family but friends and neighbours too.

Joanna has been described as someone who opens her home and heart to everyone, an amazing thing to offer, especially as she puts on a brave face for the coming months.

Aoife Gaffney, Co Kildare 

Aoife Gaffney is a single mother to one, Nathan, and there is no doubt she goes above and beyond for him. Aoife drove around New Zealand with Nathan for two and a half weeks in a camper van - which, more often than not, needed two people to tackle parking it - to visit the Lord of the Rings site, despite the fact she hates driving.

Aoife retired from employment about 10 years ago after being dubbed ‘unhireable’, a label placed on her for needing to be available for Nathan who requires higher support. But Aoife didn’t let this deter her - she set up her own business, determined to have the flexibility she needs for her son and to have more autonomy over her free time.

Aoife offers financial coaching to others and provides women with a personalised framework so they can take control over their financial freedom.

She is a great champion for both her son and for the women she coaches and helps.

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