RDS Awards celebrate Galway’s jolly green giants
Two of Galway’s greenest operators were honoured for their commitment to the environment when the RDS announced the winners of its Foundation Awards recently.
Tuatha Terryland Forest Park – officially designated the Lungs of the City – took the Community Woodland Award, a fitting tribute to the largest urban neighbourhood forest project in the history of the Irish state after it celebrates its 25th birthday last year.
And Dunmore-based Woolow Limited received the Sustainable Rural Innovation Award. The brainchild of Michael Burke, the business marries traditional farming and the greener world.
Because, by replacing synthetic materials usually found in pillows with a natural option like wool, Woolow creates organic wool pillows from the sheep on their farm, in a 300-thread cotton casing, to improve quality of sleep and the planet.
The Sustainable Rural Innovation Award recognises those who have applied science and technology to help deliver the principles of climate-smart agriculture, from greater efficiency to reduced waste and increased profitability.
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The Community Woodland Award is designed to reward projects involving the communal ownership and management of forests which have been managed in a sustainable way that is beneficial to the local economy and environment.
Tuatha Terryland Forest Park is the brainchild of lifelong environmental campaigner and activist Brendan ‘Speedie’ Smith and others.
Galway’s Green Lungs in an urban environment serving as an ‘ecological corridor’ for wildlife connecting the vast Corrib waterways on its western boundaries through the city to farmlands on its eastern side.
A year ago, it was awarded Galway city’s first Green Flag for Community involvement; received silver in the National RDS Community Woodland Award 2025; and last summer was honoured with the Galway Mayor’s Environmental and Sustainability Award 2025.
The judges said that it represented an active partnership between Galway City Council and the multisectoral Tuatha volunteers' group, working together to develop a unique green resource of native woodlands, meadows, wetlands and heritage trails for the benefit of the human and wildlife populations.
The story of Woolow goes back to Dunblaney House, which has been part of a working farm since 1787, with an emphasis then and now on wholesome produce such as livestock, spinning, weaving and apple cider.
The sheep at Dunblaney House have been there since its inception and are as much a part of its past and present, as are the people who live and work there.
As a young boy, Michael Burke learned the value of the land and its produce from his hands-on work assisting his father with the sheep and cattle on the farm at Dunblaney House.
To further support his life of learning on the farm, Michael went to study agricultural science and graduated in analytical chemistry.
Returning to the farm at Dunblaney House, Michael converted it to organic production.
And then, using the wool from his own sheep, he began making wool pillows, just as his father had done for him as a child.
Using natural and organic wool, and a 300-thread cotton casing, the pillow is wonderfully breathable, keeping you cool in summer and warm in winter.
Furthermore, wool is clinically proven to prevent germs and allergens, making it hugely appealing for those with hay-fever or dust allergies.
Both were worthy winners of the RDS Foundation Awards – recognising individuals, organisations, and businesses driving economic, environmental, and social progress in Ireland – which took place at the RDS Concert Hall last Thursday as part of the Finding Common Ground Festival.
The awards celebrate those green visionaries who are already ‘finding common ground’ proving that a thriving economy and the environment can go hand in hand.