The objective of the Judith Strickland Malcolm Bursary is to enlighten the lives of the children who reside on the island of Valentia, through access to valuable experiences in the areas of their interest. The funding will be a motivational tool to allow the children to pursue those interests. We hope that this program will help to cultivate a thriving community, and enrich the island and its people.

Judith Fordyce Strickland Malcolm first came to Valentia in 1973, and fell in love with the island. She purchased a home on the island and came there every year until 2007, the year of her death. In this time, she was involved in many aspects of life on Valentia. She had many friends and did her best to support many institutions and families on the island.

Judith Fordyce Strickland was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, on April 13, 1931 into a family of 5 daughters (including herself). When she was 19 years old she left home to attend the University of Toronto, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in History and met her future husband.

In 1958, Judith married Donald Malcolm. While raising their 2 children, she was also extensively involved in the family business her husband had initiated.

The connection to Valentia began after Donald saw an advertisement from the Irish Independent showing houses for sale on the island. A house was purchased sight unseen in 1973. From then on, Judy dedicated a large part of her life fixing up the house and engaging with the islanders. She made many friends and championed a number of causes for the people of Valentia.

Cracow Park Playground

After Mary Lynch Coffee’s little boy Éanna grew his angel wings, Rosaleen O’Connell contacted her to get involved in the Cracow Park Playground renovation. They fundraised and applied for grants to purchase and install a double zipwire, new toddler equipment, an integrated wheelchair accessible roundabout, and sensory boards, for everyone to enjoy.

They fundraised again to have the areas around the equipment resurfaced and mulch added. The whole community is very proud of their park which local children and visitors to Valentia Island enjoy immensely. The park has been dedicated to Éanna.

Valentia Island Community Games

Valentia Island Community Games was thrilled to be chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the Judith Malcolm Valentia Bursary in 2018. Our club is a member of Community Games Ireland and competes against clubs from all across County Kerry. Our members have represented Kerry at National Finals on numerous occasions over the years. The Community Games Ireland ethos is focused on participation, incorporating a broad range of sporting, cultural and artistic activities for children to develop and compete on numerous levels.

The Judith Malcolm Valentia Bursary has enabled our club to invest in new team gear for our participants, purchase medals for local competitions and explore masterclass options for our members where there is a lack of mentoring in South Kerry. We have invested in a set of 10 half-zips and 13 indoor soccer jerseys in our club colours which our members proudly wear at county finals when representing the club. We also purchased 150 medals to award at local competitions in the coming years acknowledging the effort our participants make in preparing and competing locally, at county and national level. The committee are currently exploring masterclasses in singing and field athletics to enhance the availability of tutoring for our members who regularly represent the club in these competitions.

Our committee would like to sincerely thank the Malcolm family on behalf of our club, its members, parents, volunteers and the wider Valentia Island community for enabling us to support and provide recognition to our participants who represent our community positively and proudly.

Valentia Island Resource & Childcare Centre