Cork cleans up at Tidy Towns awards

THE Rebel County has once again come up shining in the annual National Tidy Towns competition – winning an impressive 17 gold, silver and bronze medals and 37 individual category awards.

The north and mid- Cork regions fared particularly well in the 2016 standings, with towns and villages across both regions catching the eyes of competition judges.

Once again the village of Coolagown near Fermoy stepped up to the plate, winning gold in ‘ Tidiest Village’ (pop under 200) category – finishing a mere three points behind the winners Birdhill in Tipperary and a coveted ‘Value Water Award’.

Judges were effusive in their praise of Coolagown, saying they were “very impressed” by what they encountered during their visit.

Coolagown’s final tally of 323 points, four more than in 2015, was enough to secure the county award for North Cork, with Castletownroche and Kiskeam highly commended and commended respectively.

Ballincollig also struck gold, racking up an impressive 321 points in the ‘Large Urban Centre’ category, finishing just four points behind Kilkenny. Ballincollig tasted further victory, winning the county award for South Cork

Macroom’s impressive tally of 313 points was enough to secure silver in the ‘Small Town’ category, while Millstreet secured bronze in the ‘Small Town’ category with 308 points.

Newtwopothouse won the Cork (North) endeavour award, with Kildorrery Tidy Towns winning the ‘Let’s Get Buzzing’ pollinators award in the small town category.

Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey complimented all of the Cork entrants in this year’s competition for their “dedication and hard work.”

“I have witnessed first-hand the differences that can be made through participation in the Tidy Towns competition. The results are much more than what we see from the judges written reports,” said Mr Lucey.

“The real success is evident through the community spirit and shared sense of pride that is evident in towns and villages across the entire county,” he added.