| A panel, chaired by Lord Provost John Letford, selected Mrs Irons from a list of nominees to succeed the current incumbent, entertainer Ronnie Coburn.
Mr Letford said the award was a well deserved accolade for someone who had given so much of her own time to help the community.
Mrs Irons said she had been “absolutely shell-shocked” when she heard she had been chosen as the Citizen of the Year and felt very honoured.
Among her list of voluntary work credits, Mrs Irons set up and ran a play group for mothers and toddlers at the Ancrum Activity Centre.
Friends who nominated her said she had often used her own money to fund the play group, which ran for more than 19 years.
She also ran the St Mary’s Youth Group, in Lochee, for 20 years, which provided a place for young people to meet in a safe, supervised environment.
Mrs Irons has been involved in many fund-raising ventures for a range of good causes by organising bingo nights, coffee mornings, beetle drives and quiz nights.
She also helped run sessions for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which seeks bone marrow donors, when it came to Dundee.
Mrs Irons’ voluntary work took her to Romania last year with her friend Anne Hampton, where they worked with families and orphaned children.
On their return, they helped to collect gifts to fill shoe boxes which were sent to Romania at Christmas. |
