Leitrim Guardian Person of the Year 2026 announced

The Leitrim Guardian Committee has announced that the recipient of the Leitrim Guardian Person of the Year award 2026 is Gerry Farrell.     

Gerry Farrell was born and raised in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim. 

He attended the local national school and St. Claire’s Comprehensive school. He qualified as a psychiatric nurse in St. Columba’s Hospital, Sligo. He and his wife Mary have two daughters and four grandchildren. Rachel is married to Colm O’Hara and they have two children. Rebecca is married to Ciaran Rodgers and they have two children.

A qualified psychiatric nurse, a qualified and fully accredited counsellor, and a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Gerry has over forty years' clinical, counselling and lecturing experience.

Gerry Farrell is well known in the North West and beyond for his acclaimed performance in John McDwyer’s An Ordinary Man, a Beezneez production. 

In addition to many Beezneez productions, Gerry has performed with Splódar Theatre Company in Irish and English. As a playwright, Gerry has earned critical and audience success with three plays: The First Protestant, The Last Prime Minister of Ireland and the highly successful The Sceptical Suffragette. All three plays toured venues throughout Ireland. His adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses had two tours of the USA, as well as performances in theatres across Ireland.

Apart from his 53 years working in theatre, Gerry has had a twin career working in Mental Health over the last 48 years. He taught counselling students at Trinity College Dublin, as well as students on the Addictions Studies course at NUI Maynooth, and Social Studies at ATU Sligo. Gerry provides counselling services to a variety of statutory and voluntary bodies, including Employee Assistance Programmes, covering a wide range of issues from addictions and stress, to bereavement. He has lectured on the subject of Psychiatry and Counselling at Trinity College and Sligo IT and is a tutor on the NUI Maynooth Certificate in Addictions studies.

He was also recently involved in facilitating teachers for the delivery of the new SPHE programme in second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland.

In November 2004 he was presented with a “Special Recognition Award” by John Hume on behalf of the Alzheimer's Society Ireland for his “contribution to the competency of staff and volunteers through his training programmes for the society over the years.” 

The Committee received several nominations on Gerry Farrell 's behalf and are very pleased to add his name to this prestigious list of esteemed individuals, a testament to his outstanding contribution to life in Leitrim and beyond.