Tag Archives: Tidy Towns

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 …

CLARECASTLE Tidy Towns have swept away the competition and cleaned up in a national contest. The local voluntary group have been named overall winners in the National Tidy Towns Photography Competition 2020. The winning photograph was taken by Christy Leyden, chairperson of Clarecastle Tidy Towns and depicted a wall mural by local artist Niamh Hickey in Haggart View, Creggaunahilla which forms part of a biodiversity project. The message of the mural, and the photograph is, “Never underestimate the power of a planted seed”. Judges in the competition found that the picture said a lot about the spirit of Tidy Towns, in building community pride and displaying the various talents we have in our community The bio-diversity project started in the spring of 2019 when at a Clarecastle Tidy Towns meeting the poor state of the plot fronting a wall in the housing estate was discussed and a pollinator friendly bed was suggested. A bedding plan was prepared with an emphasis …

THE hardwork and dedication of people who are working to make Ennis look its best has been honoured by the local Tidy Towns group. Ennis Tidy Towns annual Local Awards recently took place, with awards presented to residents for their voluntary efforts in keeping the town tidy. The usual awards night could not be held due to Covid-19, however Tidy Towns committee members visited the award winners to present them with their prizes. Cormac McCarthy, chairman of Ennis Tidy Towns said, “Even though our local awards night could not take place this year, we had the wonderful job to go around to each of our category winners with Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Mary Howard and present them with their awards in the winning gardens, green areas, approach roads and shrines. “In a year that shook us all to the core it was a lovely way to end 2020. A huge congratulations to all our entrants.” Along with the overall …

THERE is local anger about the poor standard of the grass cutting in public areas again this summer, last week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District heard. “People are very angry about the way that Shannon looks and they want the contractor to be local,” said Sinn Féin’s Donna McGettigan. Councillor McGettigan said that while it may not be legally possible to ensure the contract goes to a local company, there still needs to be steps taken to make sure things are done to an acceptable standard. She put forward a motion that an enforcement structure be implemented, which would include agreed standards and time frames for the contracted works. The motion also proposed that the company and the Council “streamline their communication structures. It also said that the company would preferably have a local contact who could ensure that necessary works get carried out. In a written reply Senior Executive Engineer Aidan O’Rourke stated, “Grass cutting is subject to an …

THE national Tidy Towns competitions may be cancelled, but that hasn’t stopped the dedicated band of volunteers who have been keeping Ennis looking its best all year round. Just one of a number of initiatives underway locally has seen Ennis Tidy Towns join forces with the little ninjas of Ennis Coderdojo, asking them to develop Tidy Towns themed games and apps. The local Tidy Towns committee are looking forward to adjudicating what the youngsters come up with later this month. “If we don’t have actual Tidy Towns, we have virtual Tidy Towns,” smiles chairman of Ennis Tidy Towns Cormac McCarthy. He admits that there was disappointment in the community when it was announced this year’s contest would not be going ahead. The Ennis team, who have been hugely successful in the national contest, put in a “very strong submission” this year having worked right through the year. However, Cormac believes it was the right decision given the current Covid-19 crisis. …

ENNIS has been crowned Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre at this year’s national Tidy Towns competition. The county capital scored an impressive 345 points in the competition, just one point behind the overall winners of Ireland’s Tidiest Town, Glaslough in County Monaghan. Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre is just one of a number of awards that have been scooped by the Ennis entry. Among the prestigious awards won by the local committee of volunteers were a gold medal, regional award and the county award. While the Supervalu Schools Award was presented to entries from Ennis National School and Ennis Scouts.

THE Mayor of Ennis said the announcement that the county capital is Ireland’s Cleanest Town is “testament to the year-round effort” by volunteers, Ennis Tidy Towns Committee, Clare County Council and the business community. Councillor Paul Murphy said, “Ennis is a vibrant tourism town and a popular shopping destination, which benefits greatly from the collective efforts of residents, visitors, the local authority, businesses and voluntary groups to keeping the streets and public spaces free of litter. The greatest example of this work was seen during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann when the streets were kept clean, as more than 400,000 people visited the town,” he said. He added that the recent naming of Ennis as a Coach Friendly Destination and as winner of the Retail Excellence Ireland Friendliest Place Award is “a vote of confidence in the partnership approach adopted by Clare County Council, Ennis Chamber and the local community to developing and promoting the Clare county capital”. Meanwhile Minister of …