At a ceremony on Friday 11th March in the Clayton Silver Springs Hotel in Cork, organised by Cork Civic Life and attended by more than 700 people, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton, was one of those to whom a Pride of Cork Award was presented.

Bishop Colton said that he was very surprised to have been nominated by members of the public for the award:

So many of the other award winners are people who have done wonderful and inspiring things, They are people, many of whom I know and work with in Cork, and admire greatly. I never imagined I’d be nominated by members of the public. I was especially delighted that many said they were helped by my night time prayers and short reflections on Twitter throughout the lockdowns of the pandemic. All I though I was doing was tweeting at about 9.30 p-.m. or 10 p.m. each night to give people a prayerful or reflective focus at the end of another tough day.

The full list of award recipients is HERE

The citation which accompanied Bishop Colton’s award was read by Master of Ceremonies, PJ Coogan of Cork 96 FM and was as follows:

‘Our next recipient tonight is Dr. Paul Colton, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross who was nominated by numerous people in the public call for nominations and is receiving A Pride of Cork Award for the following reasons:

• His night prayers for people during the Covid months, be they religious or not, and who joined with him in the spirit and intention of those prayers, and got hope, solace and inspiration from them.
• In recognition of his 23 years as Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.
• In recognition of the affection that the people have for him as a person and Church leader.
• In recognition of his inclusiveness for all in our society.
• In recognition of the fact that in 2020 he became the longest serving Bishop of Cork Cloyne and Ross in over 400 years since Bishop William Lyon in 1617
• In recognition of the fact that also in 2020, he became the longest serving Bishop still in office in the Anglican Churches of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales
• In recognition of his ability to speak out and be heard in Civic, Church and State matters

‘Bishop Paul Colton is one of those inspiring people whose contribution to people, causes and Cork is truly deserving of A Pride of Cork Award so that we can say thank you to him for his commitment in helping to lead, inspire and guide, Cork and her people.’