Offaly-based carer named regional winner of national awards

An Offaly-based carer has been announced as a regional winner of the Comfort Keepers Carer of the Year Awards 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 Comfort Keepers colleagues, Maria received her official 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, from Coosan in Athlone, 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 over 20 years.

Comfort Keepers Ireland is an award-winning homecare and support service that helps people stay 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 serving Westmeath.

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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.”

Maria O’Callaghan, Regional Winner of the Comfort Keepers Carer of the Year Awards, said: “I am honoured to receive this recognition for helping my 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.”

Comfort Keepers understands the key role the GAA plays in Irish society, and with community and connection central to both organisations, Comfort Keepers has also launched a new digital marketing campaign in partnership with GAA+, the GAA’s live and on-demand streaming platform. The campaign is featuring a vignette-style ad, showcasing the company’s values, services and role in communities. See this here on the homepage of its website at comfortkeepers.ie.

It also involves giving 250 clients free access to GAA+, particularly the older people and people with disabilities, to help ensure they feel part of their community and ease the isolation felt by some older people after the development to move greater numbers of GAA matches behind a paywall.

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Established in 2005, Comfort Keepers Ireland is an award-winning national homecare company. It works closely with the HSE, their clients, and their families to offer a full range of nurse-led, tailored homecare and support services for any individual, including older adults, who wants to stay in their own homes for as long as possible.