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 success. ““I want to extend many congratulations to Ennis TidyTowns who have won this year’s National TidyTowns award. This is a monumental achievement, and the hard-working volunteers deserve huge credit for their work this year and indeed over many, many years,” he said.
Deputy Carey believes that Clare County Council should mark the achievement by hosting a Civic Reception in recognition of the work of many volunteers, throughout the years.
“I am calling on Clare County Council to hold a Civic Reception for the volunteers who have selflessly given their time freely over the years. Today’s news is a huge boost to Ennis and an example to all of us around Clare as to what can be achieved through hard work and persistence. Their success is even more impressive in light of the pandemic and the challenges that has brought,” Deputy Carey concluded.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.