Poles based in Limerick and Clare rewarded for contributions at awards ceremony

THREE Polish immigrants from Limerick and one from Clare were all recognised as an Outstanding Pole of the year, at an awards ceremony in Dublin.

Four of the overall six recipients joined for a reunion at the Polish Consulate on O’Connell Street following the national awards ceremony back in October.

Piotr Mach, of EML architects, originally from Gliwice, now residing in Corbally was rewarded the overall award and was nominated under the ‘Young Pole’ category.

The city-based architect said: “I think that the Outstanding Pole in Ireland Award is a great success for the whole Polish Community that I represent.

“Our main goal is to connect with other communities, grow together and serve Limerick the best we can,” Mr Mach added.

Nominated for the ‘Culture’ category was Ewa Kotula for her role as a founding member of Slavic Inspirations and Kupala Night and as a dance teacher in the local Polish school, SPK Limerick.

Originally from Opole Lubelskie, Ms Kotula found moving to Limerick tough at first, however, her active personality aided her integration by being involved in the local community.

“Irish people are actually so open and if you want to get involved with anything they’ll help you in whatever way they can.

“I never felt like an outsider or a foreigner here, what I found was that if you meet them halfway it’s very easy to integrate,” Ms Kotula advised.

The jury also commended the works of  local photographer Anna Hurkowska from Gliwice and Sylwia Rusek from the Inisowiacy Polish Folk Group, in Ennis, County Clare.

Senator Maria Byrne offered her congratulations to the award-winners and looked forward to the development of a third Polish school in the county.

Honorary Consul of Poland in Limerick and Clare, Patrick O’Sullivan was immensely proud of the winners and their impact in the city.

“It shows how progressive and interactive the Polish community are here in Limerick,” Mr O’Sullivan concluded.