Kilkenny, has been awarded the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre 2010 from the Tidy Towns competition.
Prizes were presented at The Helix, DCU, Dublin where John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government presented the winners with their accolades.
Several representatives from Kilkenny were present to pick up the much sought-after award, which both the local authorities and Keep Kilkenny Beautiful committee went to great lengths to achieve.
Minister Gormley said after the awards ceremony: "The adjudicators were extremely impressed with Kilkenny this year and they commented that ‘Kilkenny has been enhanced by the considered approach the Tidy Towns Committee have taken to projects within the area.’ It is a remarkable achievement to win this award in the face of such strong competition and I wish to express, again, my deep appreciation and admiration for the work that all involved carry out in their communities.”
A report from the Tidy Towns Competition adjudicators on the progress of Kilkenny this year, said that “the performance of Kilkenny in the Tidy Towns Competition is always impressive and 2010 is no exception to this. The consistently strong performances is due to a number of factors including the enthusiasm and commitment of the 19-member Keep Kilkenny Beautiful Committee and the highly organised approach to the competition.
“It is noted that the committee work very closely with Kilkenny Town Council (and Kilkenny County Council ) and a range of other agencies and organisations such as Fas, An Taisce and Birdwatch Ireland to name but a few and that business and private interests are also heavily involved. There is no doubt that these contacts are crucial to getting projects identified and completed. The Committee is to be commended on securing the involvement of residents associations and the public as this is particularly important in a town the size of Kilkenny and the means of co-ordinating efforts through the residents association forum and the voluntary group co-ordination are most impressive.”
The adjudicator also praised the manner in which the committee raised awareness of Tidy Towns issues with the schools in Kilkenny city with the Bainisteoir Bruscair Programme.
“This is both an imaginative and ambitious initiative and we have no doubt that it will prove effective in getting the message across. You are also to be commended in securing the participation of schoolchildren in Kilkenny in numerous Tidy Town activities, such as Litter Picks, supplying bird boxes and tree planting as broad community involvement is a key part of the Tidy Towns competition.
Meanwhile, cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr Catherine Connery said, “County Kilkenny did tremendously in the national Tidy Towns competition. Besides Kilkenny City’s great achievement of winning the coveted title of Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre, Inistioge was awarded a bronze medal while Tullahought and Callan Tidy Towns received national recognition of their continued progress in the competition.”
Green Party junior minister for Carlow/Kilkenny, Mary White also congratulated Kilkenny on winning Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre award for 2010.
“It is fantastic to see this award going to Kilkenny. I want to offer my sincere congratulations to all the people of Kilkenny city, and in particular those individuals who put in such hard work and commitment to keep Kilkenny tidy. This Tidy Towns award is the result of a strong community spirit and the dedicated work of countless individuals.”
Kilkenny Local Authorities also announced the winners of the Litter Competition which was held between the local Tidy Town Groups over the summer.
Winners were selected by analyses of the litter minimisation marks from the national tidy town’s competition which were released last week and by supplementary information supplied by groups during the summer. Ballyouskill and Ballyragget scooped the top prizes of €600 while Callan Tidy Towns won €400.
