Athlone carer Maria named as regional winner of national awards
An Athlone-based carer has been announced as a regional winner of the Comfort Keepers Carer of the Year Awards for 2025.
Maria O'Callaghan received the award for her high standards in caring, empathy, support for her colleagues, and her dedication to her work.
Attended by family, friends, and her Comfort Keepers colleagues, Maria received her award at a recent event held in Croke Park to celebrate the 2025 Regional Carer of the Year Winners. She was chosen as one of ten finalists from around the country.
Maria is from Coosan in Athlone, and lives with her husband, Paddy, and youngest daughter, Emily. Her two older daughters have married and moved out. Maria started caring during the pandemic, having previously been a carer for her daughter for more than 20 years.
Comfort Keepers Ireland is a homecare and support service that helps people continue living independently in their own homes and communities as safely as possible, "while maintaining connection, dignity, confidence, and joy".
Comfort Keepers has been operating for over 20 years and employs over 120 people at its hub in Tullamore, which serves Westmeath.
Collette Gleeson, CEO of Comfort Keepers, said: "At Comfort Keepers, we have been providing homecare services to homes and communities across Ireland for over 20 years now, and what our teams do is much more than daily support.
"Each of our carers brings care, joy and connection into their clients' homes every day, while helping them to stay independent, confident, and part of the communities they love.
"This is why this annual celebration is a really important opportunity for us to honour the incredibly hardworking and passionate members of our teams and for our winners to connect.
"Maria is a natural carer – she is very compassionate and dedicated to supporting her clients and colleagues. She is a fabulous ambassador for Comfort Keepers and a very deserving regional winner," added Collette.
Reacting to her recognition as a regional winner at the Comfort Keepers Carer of the Year Awards, Maria O'Callaghan said: "I am honoured to receive this recognition for helping my Athlone clients to live in the comfort of their home. I love being a carer and making a positive impact on my clients’ lives.
"My clients and their extended families bring me great joy, too. Caring is a worthwhile job for any age group – it isn’t easy, but it’s a great opportunity to get out into the community.
"Our clients are at the heart of everything, and sometimes they give us more than we give them," Maria added.