Minister of State, Mr. Tony Killeen has urged towns and villages throughout County Clare to participate in the 2009 National TidyTowns Competition, details of which were announced this week.
The competition, which is one of the world’s longest running environmental initiatives, is now in its 51st year. Minister of State Killeen said that communities across Clare should take confidence from the County’s performance in last year’s competition.
Ennis was named Ireland’s tidiest large urban area while it also retained its Gold Medal along with Kilrush. The County Capital also picked up the overall County Award with Kilrush and Ballynacally being named second and third respectively. Ballynacally won a silver medal, and Kilkee and Mountshannon both received bronze medals. Elsewhere, Lissycasey won a Best New Entry Award in Category B, Ennis was named Regional winner of the Best Presented Bring Bank, Labasheeda Community Pride was named the winner of the Regional Notice Nature Biodiversity Award, Killaloe won the County Endeavour Award, Ennis TidyTowns Committee was presented with the Regional Award in the ‘Don’t Let it all go to Waste! Recycle Initiative 2008′ category, while Holy Family Senior NS in Ennis won the Regional School Award.
According to Minister Killeen, “The standards in County Clare have always been extremely high and I was especially delighted to see that so many local participants were officially recognised in 2008, which is a testament to the efforts of those involved. I would particularly like to acknowledge the efforts made by new entrants to the TidyTowns competition.” The Junior Agriculture Minister said the achievements of large towns such as Kilrush and Ennis could not have been accomplished without the support of the wider community. He said: “TidyTowns provides members of the local community with the opportunity to show their pride in their respective towns and villages. It is evident from Clare’s outstanding success in last year’s competition that the spirit of volunteerism and pride of place is very much alive in this County. I look forward to this community spirit shining through again in 2009.”
Minister Killeen noted that this year, for the first time, a special Climate Change award was being included in the structure of the competition. He continued, “The aim of the award is to facilitate community groups to investigate their carbon footprint and use this to raise awareness of the climate change issue at a local level. It is also intended that the award will encourage groups to develop, enhance and exchange best practice for community group structures, models and management. The larger the number of initiatives and the more innovative they are, the better.” “There was unprecedented interest in Tidy Towns in 2008, and I would urge everyone to participate in 2009,” concluded Minister Killeen.
The closing date for receipt of entries for this year’s competition is 22nd May 2009. Entry forms can be obtained from the TidyTowns Unit in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government – Phone (01) 8882300 or by visiting www.tidytowns.ie.
The competition, which is one of the world’s longest running environmental initiatives, is now in its 51st year. Minister of State Killeen said that communities across Clare should take confidence from the County’s performance in last year’s competition.
Ennis was named Ireland’s tidiest large urban area while it also retained its Gold Medal along with Kilrush. The County Capital also picked up the overall County Award with Kilrush and Ballynacally being named second and third respectively. Ballynacally won a silver medal, and Kilkee and Mountshannon both received bronze medals. Elsewhere, Lissycasey won a Best New Entry Award in Category B, Ennis was named Regional winner of the Best Presented Bring Bank, Labasheeda Community Pride was named the winner of the Regional Notice Nature Biodiversity Award, Killaloe won the County Endeavour Award, Ennis TidyTowns Committee was presented with the Regional Award in the ‘Don’t Let it all go to Waste! Recycle Initiative 2008′ category, while Holy Family Senior NS in Ennis won the Regional School Award.
According to Minister Killeen, “The standards in County Clare have always been extremely high and I was especially delighted to see that so many local participants were officially recognised in 2008, which is a testament to the efforts of those involved. I would particularly like to acknowledge the efforts made by new entrants to the TidyTowns competition.” The Junior Agriculture Minister said the achievements of large towns such as Kilrush and Ennis could not have been accomplished without the support of the wider community. He said: “TidyTowns provides members of the local community with the opportunity to show their pride in their respective towns and villages. It is evident from Clare’s outstanding success in last year’s competition that the spirit of volunteerism and pride of place is very much alive in this County. I look forward to this community spirit shining through again in 2009.”
Minister Killeen noted that this year, for the first time, a special Climate Change award was being included in the structure of the competition. He continued, “The aim of the award is to facilitate community groups to investigate their carbon footprint and use this to raise awareness of the climate change issue at a local level. It is also intended that the award will encourage groups to develop, enhance and exchange best practice for community group structures, models and management. The larger the number of initiatives and the more innovative they are, the better.” “There was unprecedented interest in Tidy Towns in 2008, and I would urge everyone to participate in 2009,” concluded Minister Killeen.
The closing date for receipt of entries for this year’s competition is 22nd May 2009. Entry forms can be obtained from the TidyTowns Unit in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government – Phone (01) 8882300 or by visiting www.tidytowns.ie.
