Will there be a People of the Year winner from Dublin this year? Previous winners from the county include Gay Byrne, Veronica Guerin, Eddie Jordan, Ronan Keating, Maeve Binchy, Christina Noble and Niall Mellon.

So do you know someone that has done something extraordinary this year who deserves recognition? Is it a neighbour, a friend, a work colleague, a stranger who helped you, or a sporting hero who inspired you? 

Nominations are now open for the 2015 People of the Year Awards, giving the public the chance to honour an ordinary person who did something life-changing. The categories are International Person of the Year, Young Person of the Year, Community Group of the Year, and Sports Person of the Year as well as a more general People of the Year Awards for achievements across a range of areas.

The closing date for nominations is Monday 14 September and the awards, which are organised by Rehab, will be broadcast live on RTÉ One on Saturday 5 December.

Previous award winners Rory O’Neill (aka Panti Bliss), Joanne O’Riordan, Fiona Doyle, Tomi Reichental and Daráine Mulvihill joined together  in Dublin this week to call on people to nominate everyday heroes and heroines – those ordinary people who have done extraordinary things over the last year.

It’s quick and easy to nominate someone: simply fill in the short nomination form at www.PeopleoftheYear.com or at Facebook.com/PeopleOfTheYearAwards. You can also contact the People of the Year Awards office for a nomination form at 01 205 7397. All the winners are nominated by the Irish public and finalised by a panel of adjudicators. 

The People of the Year Awards have been organised by Rehab since they began in 1974. Previous high-profile award winners include Brendan O’Carroll, Katie Taylor, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Brian O’Driscoll, Keith Duffy, Padraig Harrington, Christy Moore, Sir Terry Wogan, Bob Geldof and Niall Quinn.

These well-known names are part of a bigger story – the story of hundreds of ordinary people who have been honoured in Ireland for the extraordinary things they have achieved. That is the magic of the People of the Year Awards.

Siobhán Reilly

Rehab