The final stages of judging for the 2022 IPB Pride of Place Competition in Mayo took place on yesterday, Thursday, August 4 and today Friday, August 5.
IPB Pride of Place Competition in association with Co-operation Ireland, is an all island competition organised by Co-operation Ireland and the Local Authorities. The purpose of the competition is to acknowledge the work being done every day by communities all over the island of Ireland.
Mayo County Council has nominated two groups for Pride of Place 2022. The Groups are: (1 ) Kilmovee: Category 2 - Population (300 – 1000 ) and (2 ) Achill Tourism: Category 9 – Community Tourism Initiatives. This 'Judges Call' is the final stage of the Pride of Place application.
The Pride of Place Judges will conduct a site visit to both community groups put forward for the competition by Mayo County Council. During the two day visit the judges will visit and meet with community representatives in each area.
The visit will consist of a formal presentation by representatives of the local community highlighting the aspects of which they are particularly proud and the reason why they deserve a Pride of Place award. This is followed by a short tour of the project or area of interest. This tour will showcase all elements of pride / volunteer and community efforts / initiatives in area. Last year Ballina Community Clean Up achieved the top position in Category 5 – Population > 5,000.
Judges visited Kilmovee on Thursday, August 4 at 9.30 am and Achill on today Friday, August 5 at 10am. Members of both communities were encouraged to support and be part of Judges visit with both groups.
Speaking about this year’s competition Catherine McConnell, Acting Chief Executive, Mayo County Council in supporting this year’s community groups said: "We as a local authority appreciate the work, commitment and continued dedication to making Mayo look its best and adding value to the County.
"We will continue to support ongoing efforts to create strong, vibrant and sustainable communities. I would like to congratulate this year’s groups on their own achievements, on being nominated to represent Mayo in this National, prestigious competition. On behalf of Mayo County Council, I wish them every success with Pride of Place 2022."
Joanne Grehan, Director of Services for Community Engagement on Pride of Place added: "It is a wonderful competition which showcases and highlights best practices in communities throughout Mayo.
"Mayo County Council and the Municipal Districts work closely with our community groups in Mayo; we recognise and appreciate the level of volunteerism of all community groups which has helped to make Mayo a great place in which to live, visit, work and invest. Pride of Place is a way of acknowledging work carried out by our Community groups and we wish the participating groups in Pride of Place 2022 continued success."
