Skibb’s Linda wins Cork Woman of the Year in US

SKIBBEREEN woman Linda Croston has been named Cork Woman of the Year 2024 by the County Cork Benevolent, Patriotic and Protective Association in the United States.

The award was presented to Linda at the association’s 139th annual St Patrick’s ball and dinner dance in Queens Village last weekend, which was attended by county mayor Frank O’Flynn.

Linda, the youngest daughter of Kay and Frank Croston, is the co-founder and co-owner of Croston Flood, Recruiting, Consulting and Special Events in New York.

The association acknowledged that Linda (40) has been a ‘fervent non-profit volunteer’ and has shown great dedication to the Irish community since she emigrated to New York in 2012.

Linda supported Project Children by promoting their award-winning documentary How to Defuse a Bomb – The Project Children Story, as well as serving as a board member and programme coordinator of the Mulcahy Scholarship.

Linda also worked closely with the County Cork Benevolent, Patriotic and Protective Association and Cork City Council in August 2023 to screen the Project Children documentary – which shows how 23,000 protestant and catholic children from the North were given a six-week retrieve from their difficult circumstances in the US – at The Pavilion in Cork, the night before the Cork Association’s annual gala.

Linda is a UCC graduate of social science and has a masters degree in management and marketing.

As a young person, Linda, who is now a mother to three-year-old Olivia, was known for her skilful involvement in the Skibbereen Pony Club.

She was known to be a keen basketball player who won many Cork county championships at club and school level, and played underage at inter-county level.

She is married to Dunmanway native Jer McCarthy, captain of the Cork Gaelic Football Club of New York Junior B championship team, and also played an instrumental role in the celebrations for the New York GAA Hall of Fame gala.

Linda is currently working on archiving the history of Project Children which will be housed at the Monaghan Peace Campus.