This year at conference, celebrating our members was front and centre. In addition to the usual Distinguished Service Awards, the inaugural Fórsa Members’ National Awards took place, and for the first time a member was honoured for their service with an honorary lifetime membership.

The Distinguished Service Awards are a way to honour members for their years of service and hard work for the betterment of their fellow members. The awards were presented during conference over two ceremonies on the Wednesday and Thursday. Awards were presented to 24 people from across all divisions and around the country. A full list of winners can be found here.

It was standing room only for the inaugural Fórsa Members’ National Awards. The Brehon suite was packed with colleagues and well-wishers when the awards took place as a fringe event at lunch on the Friday.

The awards were presented by outgoing President Michael Smyth who was delighted to have the opportunity to highlight members’ dedication to their union.

On the new awards, Michael said: “The Distinguished Service Awards are an incredibly important way in which we celebrate some our most committed members, but the people who win one usually have 20 to 30 years of service under their belt. We wanted these awards to recognise the work being done right now, often by some of our newer members.”

There were seven winners across a diverse range of categories, including recruitment, delivering for members, and campaigning. A full list of winners can be found here.

On stage at the INEC, Alan Hanlon was recognised with the first Fórsa honorary lifetime membership. A member for 39 years, Alan has been an active member since the 1990s. First with the CPSU, then for 24 years with PSEU. and finally with Fórsa after its creation. 

Alan served on the PSEU executive and took part in the negotiations which led to the formation of Fórsa. 

He would become one of the signatories to the document of amalgamation, and one of the first vice-presidents. He would also serve on the Civil Service DEC, where he was an ever-present advocate for restoring the pre-Haddington Road hours.

Speaking at the presentation of Alan’s honorary lifetime membership, Cormac Donoghue said “Alan is a proud union member. He has always put the interest of members to the front of the decisions he took and opinions he gave. He has invested himself into issues without taking things personally." 

Reacting to the award Alan said: "I am deeply privileged and greatly humbled to be the first honorary life member of Fórsa.I was astounded by the amount of people who contacted me to express their heartfelt congratulations. I hasten to add that it is down to the efforts of so many individuals, past and present that I have arrived at this moment. Thank you, one and all!"

You can look at a selection of photos from Conference here.

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.