Fermanagh Trust awards Margaret Gallagher MBE JP for services to the local community

Margaret Gallagher MBE JP

A lifetime of selfless service and local leadership

As part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, the Fermanagh Trust is honouring 30 remarkable individuals whose commitment to their communities has made a lasting difference. Each awardee receives a £1,000 bursary to benefit the organisation they’re involved with. A gift that celebrates their service while investing in the future.

Our latest honouree, Margaret Gallagher, is a pillar of Belcoo whose volunteerism spans over 50 years. Her £1,000 bursary will go to Lakeland Community Care, an organisation she helped develop from the ground up and where she has served faithfully for more than three decades. She plans to retire from the board in September 2025, marking the end of an era of service that began in 1994.

Margaret’s first steps into community work began through the ACE scheme based in the Belcoo Enterprise Centre. It was there she secured her first employment as a Heritage Officer, a role that aligned perfectly with her deep love of local history and culture. She went on to establish and manage the Belcoo Heritage Association for over 15 years, and that early experience became the foundation for a life of community action.

Through vision and determination, Margaret played a key role in founding the Belcoo Enterprise Centre, which has now stood for over 40 years. In 2010, she led the purchase and transformation of the Old Railway Building, turning it into a modern base for Lakeland Community Care. An organisation that continues to deliver day care, domiciliary support, and healthy living programmes throughout the region. Over the years, Margaret has faithfully served the charity in many roles, including Chair, Secretary, Finance Officer, Development Officer, and Board Director.

“It was a real privilege to be asked to volunteer with a group,” she recalls. “There was a great sense of pride in being involved. You stuck with it, and you became part of the work. The organisation grew around you, and you grew along with it.”

Margaret was also a key driver in fundraising for the Belcoo Healthy Living Centre, which opened in 2015 and has since become a vital hub for people of all ages, offering exercise classes, women’s and men’s groups, intergenerational activities, and public services.

Her connection to Cleenish Parish has been lifelong, and her leadership helped deliver major renovations at both Holywell Chapel and the Oratory Chapel in Belcoo. Parishioners speak of her integrity, her generosity, and the quiet determination that gets things done.

Yet Margaret’s influence can also be found at the heart of her thatched cottage, a now-iconic home without electricity or running water. She welcomes visitors, tourists, school groups, and neighbours alike with warmth, stories, tea and homemade bread. Her home has also played host to Royalty and Presidents, a symbol of how widely respected and deeply rooted her service is. “People are good if you’re good to them,” she says. “I always say: be kind to people, and they’ll be kind to you.”

Asked what motivated her across the decades, Margaret speaks from experience. “At the start, volunteering is daunting, of course it is. But there will be time. Time isn’t really yours anyway.” For Margaret, it’s always been about relationships: “We genuinely cared about the happiness of people, that was the whole point.” Her kindness, empathy and belief in community have sustained her through the highs and lows of voluntary life.

She is also clear-eyed about the challenges: “Nobody wants to volunteer now. There’s a real fear of responsibility. People are scared they’ll be held accountable if something goes wrong.” But she encourages others to step forward with confidence. “There’s always risk in life. Getting out of bed in the morning is a risk! You have to know your area and your people. As they say – know your onions!”

Even after receiving major honours, including an MBE presented to her by Prince Charles in 1998, the Paul Harris Fellowship, and the Angel Award for heritage, Margaret finds the greatest meaning in community recognition. “Fermanagh Trust have been so supportive to us over the years, so to receive this award is fantastic”, she says. “I’ve been lucky, but recognition from your community means a great deal.”

“You do it because you want to leave the place better than you found it. It may only be a sticking plaster, buts it’s a step.”