The People of the Year Awards have been running for 43 years and every year, there is no shortage of people to choose from for the honour of Everyday Hero, someone who benefits their family, neighbours or community in a special way. In association with the Rehab Group, the Today Show with Sean O’Rourke will be featuring some of the nominees over the next few weeks. Today, Evelyn O’Rourke introduced the final nominee for this year’s awards, Tom Doherty.
Tom has been a full-time ranger at the Cliffs of Moher for the past 11 years. He is also a volunteer member of the Coast Guard in Doolin. He was nominated for the work he does with families of those who have lost their lives at the cliffs.
He told reporter Evelyn O’Rourke that the cliffs have been a constant presence in his life.
“When we were young, we’d either walk to the cliffs or we’d cycle and we had great times along the cliffs. I remember a place called Aillenasharragh, it was after they’d made the film, The Mackintosh Man and we found the wheel of a car. We carried it all the way the side of the cliff, just to let it roll back down again and watch it bounce to the bottom of the cliff again.”
Tom thinks he knows why the cliffs hold an allure for many.
“It’s the beauty of the cliffs that draw the people. I heard a guy that says if you listen to the sea, it’s having an ancient conversation with the base of the cliffs. That is beautiful”.
It’s not the only conversation taking place. Tom has intervened in cases where people had travelled to the cliffs to end their lives.
“I’ve been lucky that the people I’ve engaged with walk with me…I was involved in one case where it took 10 hours and the Gardaí were very good on the day as well. They assisted us…It’s a long day, you know. We worked in relays at the time like, you know. And then…it was a great feeling. For everybody.“
Tom is credited with recovering the remains of over 100 people who took their own lives at the cliffs and returning them to their families.
“Those people…they’re in turmoil inside because they’ve lost a loved one and what I’m doing then is just helping them. Getting them through that. The one they loved is gone so we’re trying to help them through their sad and dark times. And what they want to do is – some of them now I’ve met – and they just want to walk where their loved one walked along the West Coast of Ireland.“
Mary’s son Niall died by suicide last June. Her friend Trish Flanagan nominated Tom for the kindness he showed Mary and other families like hers, following Niall’s death, as Evelyn explained to Sean.
“A few weeks after the funeral, she asked Tom to bring her to the place where he [Niall} had died. And Tom agreed instantly. And they walked the area together.”
Mary told Evelyn that this gesture was a help in her time of grief.
“It just meant everything. It was the connection, you know, that Niall’s body was taken from the water with care and love. Just even to hold Tom’s hand, it just felt…them hands…they held Niall. That meant an awful lot. And Tom took me to the place where Niall stepped out of this life...I’ve no idea how long I stood there but I just stood. And I didn’t want to move. And Tom just…held me and he…he just let me process it. It’s something now, looking back, I’m just so grateful and so thankful. Yeah, it means an awful lot.“
Listen back to the full segment on Today With Sean O’Rourke here.
Nominations are now closed for this year’s “Everyday Hero” Award.