Tag Archives: Tidy Towns

Challenges of litter, wandering fairy doors and aged signs all taken in stride of community volunteers, says report SHANNON received 320 marks from a possible 470 in this year’s Tidy Towns contest, winning a lot of praise from the judges. The adjudicators report on the town said, “A really sterling effort from Shannon here this year. You’ve shown how well a community can deal with setbacks and not just Covid-19. You take litter, wandering fairy doors and aged signs in your stride. Thanks for all the time and effort. “Not just for your entry but for the massive amount that you are clearly doing for Shannon. Well done.” It said that there has been a lot of support for the Tidy Towns effort locally. “We are very impressed with the level of commitment we are seeing from Shannon. It’s clear that you are providing a very worthwhile volunteering experience for many of your residents. You are well supported by a …

AFTER announcing Ennis as the winner of the overall Tidy Towns prize, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys praised the efforts made in the county town. “This is a fantastic achievement for Ennis who are very deserving winners. Ennis first entered the SuperValu TidyTowns competition in 1959 and continue to showcase all that is good about community and volunteerism. They have been consistently achieving high standards in the competition at local, regional, national and European level and won the competition previously in 2005. Given the tremendous interest in the competition and the increasing efforts made by all entrants, it is a wonderful achievement to take the national title for a second time; this really demonstrates that resilience and determination do reap rewards. “I want to congratulate Ennis and all of the other deserving prize-winners announced today. It has not been easy for TidyTowns groups during what has been an unprecedented period.” Clare TD Joe Carey also lauded the …

ENNIS took 355 marks from a possible 470 en route to being named Ireland’s Tidiest Town. One of the adjudicators of Ennis praised the level of participation in Tidy Towns in Ennis. “A core committee of 20 is a strong team and doubtless you have a strong ‘bench’ too as you can boast 100 volunteers behind your many initiatives.” They added, “It’s impressive to read the range of supporting organisations. This isn’t limited to environmental or residential groups (although these are in there indeed) but also include groups where social inclusion and justice are core aims. Inclusivity is increasingly important in modern Ireland and we are cheered to see the involvement of our ‘newer’ citizens as well as older volunteers “ There was also praise for the streetscapes and public places of the town. “Those banners for the railway station look gorgeous. It is hoped that these will look just as good in place. The Lanes & Bows regeneration will have huge impact …

FIANNA Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has lauded the achievement of Ennis, which was this afternoon named as Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2021. Clare’s county town scooped the top prize at this year’s Tidy Towns Awards, which were held in a scaled back ceremony at the RDS today. “This is a phenomenal achievement for the town of Ennis and for the Tidy Towns committee,” said Deputy Crowe. “I’m just thrilled for them. To beat off stiff competition from 846 other entrants is no mean feat but a quick walk-through Ennis will show you exactly how they achieved it. “It’s a regular occurrence to drive through the town on any given day and see the team of volunteers bending over backwards to pick up litter in the hi-vis vests, sprucing up the flower beds and pots and so on. “Not only did Ennis manage to take the top prize, the town was also named the country’s tidiest large urban centre …

ENNIS has been named as Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2021. It was named as the winner at Friday afternoon’s ceremony. Ennis also took the award for Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre. At the ceremony Minister Heather Humphreys announced Ennis as the winner, while presenter Anne Cassin said that its Tidy Towns group had done great work to keep people positive during the pandemic. She said adjudicators had found that that Ennis had excelled on social media, while they praised initiatives such as artwork on the town’s drain covers, which were described as “combining the aesthetic with the practical”. Also praised were the town’s parklet, the work done on pollinators, gum drop bins, and sustainability initiatives such as school walking buses and the town’s bike week. MORE TO FOLLOW

EFFORTS are getting underway in Kilfenora to restore a flower bed and signage on one of the main approach roads to the historic village, after they were struck by a car at the weekend. The incident, which happened on Sunday night, involved the vehicle veering into recently-planted flower bed and hitting one of the only signs welcoming visitors to Kilfenora. It is understood nobody was injured and Gardaí, who removed the car on Monday evening, are continuing to investigate. While relieved that the accident hadn’t been a more serious one, local people have been expressing annoyance at the fact the car was abandoned at the scene, and at the amount of damage done. “We have a great Tidy Towns group who work really hard on keeping the village looking good,” said Andy Lambert, Secretary of Kilfenora Development. “That flower bed was put in six weeks ago and the sign is the only identification on that approach road to the village. …

FUNDRAISING has been severely restricted since the onset of Covid-19, but Shannon Tidy Towns is trying to get some cash in once again. The group recently held a Flag Day in the Town Centre, currently has a GoFundMe page open, and is asking the people of the town to get behind its efforts. On the GoFundMe page it outlines the work the group has been doing of late. “Shannon Tidy Towns keep our town of Shannon clean and environmentally friendly. As soon as one of our members see or hear of an area that needs litter to be removed, we rally together to make it happen. “So far this year we have removed hundreds of bags of rubbish from our streets, walkways and play areas. “2019 funds were used to fix and paint the bus stops, railings and electrical boxes, we hung new hanging baskets along the main road, we planted new beds and of course replanted the many others. …

A PROJECT aimed at ensuring the survival of a part of Ennistymon’s heritage has been granted funding. Ennistymon Tidy Towns plan to carry out a survey of the area’s remaining hand-forged gates with the aim of identifying which of these historic items can eventually be restored. Grant funding for the survey has been awarded to the local group under the recently announced Community Heritage Grant scheme 2021. Brendan P Lynch, chairperson Ennistymon Tidy Towns told The Champion, “This is a great recognition of the group’s involvement in the heritage of the area and in turn will form part of our heritage entry into the national Tidy Towns competition. The Ennistymon Vernacular Gates Survey will, he said, look at all remaining hand-forged gates in the town of Ennistymon and surrounding hinterland and record these to the standard of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH). “This survey will then be used to identify a select number of gates to be conserved …