Search

06 Sept 2025

Longford man honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award in San Francisco

Lanesboro's Val Kirwan worked with Bord na Móna before moving on to Boston and then San Francisco and he left an indelible mark wherever he went

Longford man honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award in San Francisco

Val Kirwan (left) was honoured to receive the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Bay Law Enforcement Emerald Society for his incredible contribution to San Francisco

Reporter:

Joe O'Brien

28 Oct 2024 12:30 PM

Email:

joeaobrien@outlook.com

Born and bred on the Green, Lanesboro, Val Kirwan worked with Bord na Móna before moving on to Boston and then San Francisco and he left an indelible mark wherever he went.
Val, when living in Lanesboro as a young man was a man of the community whose outgoing personality created an aura that so many people embraced. He was always seen as a wonderful character and a beacon of the community even at such a young age.
Val’s input was outstanding for all his involvement with the Shannon Gaels and Rathcline club at all levels.
When Val hit off to Boston on the insistence of his brother Paul while on a leave of absence from Bord na Móna. Nobody expected that he would stay and continue his life in the U.S.
The city of Boston soon began to realise that they were to benefit greatly from the presence of this Lanesboro man in their city. He was widely known for his commitment to the Irish community, the GAA and especially locals that travelled to the Big Apple.
On a trip in 1988 Val travelled to San Francisco to officiate at a GAA hurling and football tournament and fell in love with the city never to return to the east coast. In 1996 Val found his true calling when he joined the San Francisco Police Department and from then until his retirement 24 years later.
During his time in the SFPD Val as was his character made himself a leading and much respected member of the PD but more importantly amongst the people he served in the San Francisco area.
In the latter years of his time in the PD he was on motorbike duty (where he escorted many leading dignitaries and the GAA All Stars through the city) and then he was on airport duty with his dogs Baro and Gilbey.
Val on airport duty picked up on the chatter of Irish voices and always welcomed them to the city while having a particular welcome if you said you were from Lanesboro or surrounding parishes.
Recently, Val was honoured to receive the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Bay Law Enforcement Emerald Society for his incredible contribution to San Francisco. They listed out his some of his wonderful contributions to San Francisco and while they said some it was an extensive list.
Val, a son of the late Gerry and Tess Kirwan, left his indelible mark wherever he went and the caring and humanity he showed to so many throughout his lifetime really makes him a most worthy recipient of this Lifetime Award.
Not only does it warm the hearts of all of us that knew and loved Val during his time here but it also makes his family here of PJ, Geraldine, Paul, Kathleen, and Gerard immensely proud.
Congratulations to our living legend Val Kirwan. 

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2025 Iconic Media