Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary has expressed his satisfaction that Ballina has been crowned the winner of the 2013 Pride of Place for towns with a population of more than 2,000.
The announcement was made at a gala function in Derry on Saturday night last. “The Pride of Place Award is a much sought after accolade for towns, villages, and communities throughout the country. The fact alone that villages and towns must be nominated for inclusion in the competition by their respective local authorities is a vote of confidence in those competing towns and I am absolutely thrilled that our town, Ballina, has been awarded this prestigious title,” said Deputy Calleary.
He added: “The competition is about showing respect and inclusion for every sector in our communities, young, old, rich or poor, and creating communities to which the people are proud to say they belong, and Ballina’s wonderful Pride of Place Committee did excellent work in portraying this fact to the adjudicators when they visited in August.”
The adjudicators said: “Ballina is the capital of North Mayo and it lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay. The town has many community groups and organisations that run a variety of events during the year. Every aspect of community life is represented here, and it’s clear that the whole community is involved in a wide range of activities. The river plays a huge part in the lives of the people of Ballina, and it is used to its full advantage. The inclusion of the multiple cultures and widespread community support augur very well for this town’s future.”
