Gold Medal Award For Kilrush For Second Year Running

Kilrush has been awarded a Gold Medal award in Category D of the National Tidy Towns Competition for the second year running.

The prestigious award was announced by Mr. John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government at an awards ceremony in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin. The competition this year celebrated its 50th Anniversary. This year’s overall winner Westport, Co Mayo achieved 303 marks. Kilrush scored 290 marks, an increase of 7 marks on last year’s result, to beat off competition from all over Ireland and claim the accolade. Kilrush was awarded a Bronze Medal in Category D of the Tidy Towns Competition in 2003 and 2004 while it received a Silver Medal in the same category in 2005 and 2006.

“Retaining the gold medal is a massive achievement for everybody involved”, stated Cllr Liam O’Looney, Mayor of Kilrush. He added that the award marks the culmination of months of hard work by local volunteers and members of the Kilrush Tidy Town’s Committee to improve the appearance of Kilrush.

Mayor O’Looney continued, “I would like to particularly acknowledge Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee and the FAS participants who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to improve the appearance of Kilrush. The volunteers have toiled throughout the summer in various public areas to create and maintain flowerbeds, keep streets tidy cut grass and pick up litter. This award further enhances the status of Kilrush as a growing and prosperous town.”

According to Murt Collins, Chairperson of the Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee, “Key to our progress in the Tidy Towns scheme has been the partnership approach that we adopted some years ago. There is a broad range of groups and organisations now involved in promoting and enhancing the appearance of the town including the local Tidy Towns Committee, FAS schemes, outdoor and clerical staff from Kilrush Town Council, the local business sector, and the community of Kilrush.”

Mr. John Corry, Kilrush Town Clerk explained that taking part in the Tidy Towns Competition has impacted positively on the appearance of the town. “In recent years, Kilrush has been scoring consistently high in the areas of Overall Developmental Approach, The Built Environment, Landscaping, Wildlife and Natural Amenities, Litter Control, Tidiness, Residential Areas and General Impression. This improved appearance has been observed and commented upon by the many thousands of visitors to the town each year. This can only have positive consequences for the town’s image and future growth”, he explained.

The Tidy Towns competition is a national competition organised by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The competition involves participating towns being rated on all aspects of their local environment. The Tidy Towns competition has now been running in Ireland for 50 years and each year attracts more than 700 local communities.

Gold Medal Award For Kilrush For Second Year Running

Kilrush has been awarded a Gold Medal award in Category D of the National Tidy Towns Competition for the second year running.

The prestigious award was announced by Mr. John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government at an awards ceremony in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin. The competition this year celebrated its 50th Anniversary. This year’s overall winner Westport, Co Mayo achieved 303 marks. Kilrush scored 290 marks, an increase of 7 marks on last year’s result, to beat off competition from all over Ireland and claim the accolade. Kilrush was awarded a Bronze Medal in Category D of the Tidy Towns Competition in 2003 and 2004 while it received a Silver Medal in the same category in 2005 and 2006.

“Retaining the gold medal is a massive achievement for everybody involved”, stated Cllr Liam O’Looney, Mayor of Kilrush. He added that the award marks the culmination of months of hard work by local volunteers and members of the Kilrush Tidy Town’s Committee to improve the appearance of Kilrush.

Mayor O’Looney continued, “I would like to particularly acknowledge Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee and the FAS participants who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to improve the appearance of Kilrush. The volunteers have toiled throughout the summer in various public areas to create and maintain flowerbeds, keep streets tidy cut grass and pick up litter. This award further enhances the status of Kilrush as a growing and prosperous town.”

According to Murt Collins, Chairperson of the Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee, “Key to our progress in the Tidy Towns scheme has been the partnership approach that we adopted some years ago. There is a broad range of groups and organisations now involved in promoting and enhancing the appearance of the town including the local Tidy Towns Committee, FAS schemes, outdoor and clerical staff from Kilrush Town Council, the local business sector, and the community of Kilrush.”

Mr. John Corry, Kilrush Town Clerk explained that taking part in the Tidy Towns Competition has impacted positively on the appearance of the town. “In recent years, Kilrush has been scoring consistently high in the areas of Overall Developmental Approach, The Built Environment, Landscaping, Wildlife and Natural Amenities, Litter Control, Tidiness, Residential Areas and General Impression. This improved appearance has been observed and commented upon by the many thousands of visitors to the town each year. This can only have positive consequences for the town’s image and future growth”, he explained.

The Tidy Towns competition is a national competition organised by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The competition involves participating towns being rated on all aspects of their local environment. The Tidy Towns competition has now been running in Ireland for 50 years and each year attracts more than 700 local communities.

Remembering Clare’s Dance Masters

Speaking at the 14th Annual Dan Furey celebration of set dancing at the weekend, Mayor of Clare Councillor Madeleine Taylor Quinn paid tribute to two of Ireland’s most celebrated Dance Masters.

The late Dan Furey (1909-1993) James Keane (1918-2000), whose contribution to Irish dance and music is celebrated each September, are credited with being the saviours of the traditional dances of Labasheeda and establishing dance schools throughout West Clare. Paying tribute to the Labasheeda men, Mayor Taylor-Quinn commented, ‘Dan Furey and James Keane provided thousands of young people across West Clare with the skills and traditions that would otherwise have been lost.’

She continued, ‘since their passing, the life-long friends have become icons for followers of the dancing traditions of this area. Dan was known far and wide for teaching dancing in the schools of West Clare and latterly came to prominence at the Willie Clancy festival. I am delighted to see that the Dan Furey festival continues to grow from strength to strength as by doing so it preserves Dan and James’ memory and the traditions they devoted their lives to.’

Dan was single-minded in his teaching and dedicated his life to this art form. He was familiar to many in the county not least for his fiddle accompaniment for the dancers. Dan and James were firm friends all their lives and in fact, Dan learned most of his dances from James' father Charlie Keane. The most popular dances in their youth were The Plain Set, The Reel Set and The Paris Set, as well as two hand and individual step dances. James learned his first steps from his grandmother when he was very young and enjoyed going to dances in his youth. He spent most of his working life farming and doing skilled work. Following his retirement from farming he returned to the dancing scene where he commanded great respect from all who came in contact with him.

According to Mayor Taylor-Quinn, ‘Dan devoted most of his life to teaching the traditional steps of the area and passed on his knowledge, skills and enthusiasm to younger generations. He influenced many great musicians and dancers, some of whom have since published various books and DVDs on the steps and sets of the area, many of them collected from Dan. Not only was Dan a renowned dancer and teacher but also a great fiddle player and frequently accompanied dancers with his fiddling.’

’Dan and James toured the country and travelled abroad teaching the Labasheeda dances and getting to know people. When the Dan Furey Festival was launched in 1995, James became a major attraction and much of the credit for the success of the weekend is attributed to him. As a native of West Clare, I am especially pleased to see that the dedicated work of these two talented gentlemen is carried on through the Dan Furey Weekend', concluded Mayor Taylor-Quinn.

This weekend of set and step dancing in memory of Dan Furey in the village of Labasheeda is a special event for the local community and for anyone interested in the dancing and music communities to meet and enjoy a common interest. This year’s festival featured workshops, céilís and numerous other special events.