PubAid’s Community Pub Hero Awards 2024 have been presented at a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament by government minister Kevin Hollinrake.
Some of the 2024 PudAid Community Pub Hero Awards winners
Winners were recognised for the great work they do within their communities, whether that’s via fundraising for local and national charities, supporting grassroots sport, or helping to protect the environment with sustainability initiatives.
One of the winners, Bridget Manley, who was nominated by the landlady of the Blue Ball Inn, Worrall, said: “We never thought we’d win. We just do what we do because we love our village and we have an outstanding pub. So many people in our village do so much and we feel very humbled. I’m in tears.”
More than 100 guests attended the awards, including members of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, which supports the awards, along with sponsor Matthew Clark. The awards were presented by Kevin Hollinrake MP, secretary of state for enterprise and markets, and Richard Hayhoe, marketing director at Matthew Clark.
One of the attendees who travelled a long way was Una Burns, manager of Charlie’s Bar in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Charlie’s Bar was the subject of an emotive video that went viral just before Christmas. Una was awarded with the community support hero award for Ireland, the first time this award has been given out.
Una said: “We’re absolutely delighted to win the award. To be in the Houses of Parliament, to be invited in itself is such an honour, but to win the award is testament to the community spirit that the pub shows, and I’m so proud to bring this home. Proud of what we have done as a community, and proud of our bar.
“When our advert went viral, we had no idea what to expect. We made the video to promote the bar and create a buzz around Christmas. When we released the video we wanted to reflect the true meaning of Christmas. We never, in our wildest dreams, expected the response that it got.
“What was more important for us was to turn a video into action, and we were able to raise £23,000 for local charities in Northern Ireland. We chose charities that support the elderly, so looking back it’s a proud moment for us.”
Des O’Flanagan, co-founder of PubAid, said: “The annual event is always very special for us and all the pubs who made it through to the finals. It is wonderful to hear so many stories of publicans who do so much for their local communities, and it’s heart-warming that pubs raise so much money for local and national charities and that their regular customers are so generous when the cost of living makes things tough for many people.
“All 1,000 nominations we received are worthy of a congratulations, but a special mention needs to be for those who made it through to the finals. The standard or entry this year has been so high that it gave our expert judges some difficult decisions.”
Category winners
Community support hero
England: Clifton Arms, Blackburn
Ireland: Charlie’s Bar, Enniskillen
Scotland: Greenhills, East Kilbride
Wales: Yr Owain
Community fundraising hero
England: Railway Inn, Lincoln
Wales: The Sun Trevor, Llangollen
Scotland: Bank Bar, Dundee
Community regular hero
Scotland: Roisin Therese, from the Dreadnought pub, Edinburgh
Bridget and Paul Manley, from the Blue Ball, Worrall
Community sustainability hero
The George, Castleton
Community sport hero
The Sportsman, Boston
