ARE THERE extraordinary people – or just ordinary people who perform extraordinary deeds?

The latter are the ones who keep society going, who inspire, help and achieve for everyone around them – but don’t always get the recognition.

There are still a few days though to put someone you know in the spotlight for their achievements, as the People of the Year awards is still looking for nominees.

Applications and nominations have to be in by close of business on Friday, 12 September. It’s the 40th year of the People of the Year awards. In that time, they have seen both public figures who have had a huge impact on Irish life take an award home, but also provided a platform for unsung heroes to get their reward.

Sometimes the awards can be prescient – last year, the Irish Women’s Rugby Team won Sportsteam of the Year at this ceremony. They, of course, went on to continue thrilling Irish sports fans and lift the whole country with their incredible performance at the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Their captain Fiona Coghlan said:

It really was the icing on the cake (for us) to what was an amazing year. We were both honoured and overwhelmed that people had taken the time to nominate us and that is why I would tell everyone to look around them, see the people doing amazing things and nominate someone who they think is deserving of an award.

You can nominate online here, or email peopleoftheyear@rehab.ie, write to People of The Year Awards Office, Roslyn Park, Sandymount, Dublin 4 or at Facebook here.