Cliodna (Clio) O’Flynn, a journalist living in Adeje, specifically in the neighbourhood of Callao Salvaje for more than twenty years, has been awarded an honorary British Empire Medal in recognition of her professional career and her informative work directed at the English-speaking public living in the Canary Islands. The award was presented to her by the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Spain, Sir Alex Ellis, in the Convento de Adeje a few days ago, at an event chaired by Manuel Luis Méndez Martín, councillor for the Department of the Presidency.
O’Flynn is a leading figure among the British and English-speaking population of south Tenerife. For more than a decade she has presented the programme “Adeje English Time” on Radio Sur Adeje 107.9 FM, through which she has offered clear information on administrative procedures and, in particular, on the situation faced by the British public after Brexit, providing guidance at key moments.
A worker with the Municipal Public Services Company of Adeje (EMSA), she carries out her work in coordination with Adeje Town Hall’s Communication Office and collaborates actively with the departments of Social Welfare, Protocol and Tourism, among others. Responsible for the Adeje Town Hall news blog and for the social media accounts of the same name, Clio O’Flynn brings communication with the foreign resident population to every possible platform. Manuel Luis Méndez recalled that “her role during the COVID pandemic was fundamental in informing the resident population through written, audio and audiovisual media”.
Her residence in Callao Salvaje, one of Adeje’s most multicultural neighbourhoods, has helped her integration into the municipality’s social life. Over the years she has become a reference point for the English-speaking public and her work as an intermediary with the Town Hall has allowed foreign residents to understand more clearly their rights and responsibilities. For the councillor responsible for the Department of the Presidency, “the involvement of Clio O’Flynn has been of great importance because she has achieved something many people long for, bringing different communities together”.
With a consolidated career, O’Flynn is a journalist recognised in Tenerife, in Ireland where she is originally from, and in the United Kingdom. Her experience as a news editor with Ireland’s National Radio (RTE) in the 1990s has led her to collaborate today with media outlets such as RTE and the BBC, among others, which turn to her to contextualise issues linked to the Canary Islands and Spain in general, especially in response to false information or disinformation that may arise in the United Kingdom.
Adeje Town Hall congratulates Cliodna O’Flynn on this distinction, which recognises her constant work in the service of the public and her role as an information bridge between the Canary Islands and the English-speaking community.
