The big tidy towns push is on!
Communities calling everyone out to help clean up North Kerry
TIDY Towns groups across North Kerry, from Listowel and Knockanure to Ballybunion and Tarbert, are calling on everyone in their communities to ensure all is looking as rosy as could possibly be on their doorsteps as the first round of national judging gets underway.
This is the crunch time for communities. Just like the Leaving Cert, months of hard work come down to just a few hours in a makeor-break burst - one that is, in the case of the Tidy Towns, entirely dependant on how an individual judge perceives a place.
That’s why it has never been more important to ensure no wrapper, fagbutt, lump of dog dirt or what have you is left anywhere other than deep inside a bin.
The Tidy Towns ‘ buzz’ is possibly being more keenly felt in Listowel than in any other part of the county at present, in a town that comes to the competition with a lot at stake - as the tidiest small town in the country for two years running.
But you don’t have to live in a town to take part. Just look at Knockanure this week where volunteers were out in force cleaning every square inch of the village ahead of the judging.
“There’s a buzz in the air as we find ourselves in the middle of the competition season,” Listowel PRO Jackie Barrett-Madigan told The Kerryman.
“Following our achievement in the national competitions these last two years as Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town and our continual increase in points year-after-year with Listowel, finishing just one point behind the overall winner, the pressure is on to do even better in this year’s competition as they aim for the big one – Ireland’s Tidiest Town.”
But perhaps more important that ensuring a town or village is looking its very best, is the sense of togetherness the competition engenders: “The true meaning of Tidy Towns comes to light, when communities come together and take pride in where they live, creating a cleaner, healthier environment. This is what Tidy Towns is all about – working together for the better of the community and Listowel is a prime example of this.”
The committee is thanking everyone for the Trojan work carried out in recent months by everyone in town. They are also in the running, of course, for an international event of even greater significance.
Listowel is this year representing Ireland in the International 2017 Communities in Bloom; the country’s sole representative in the hugely prestigious competition.
“To date the communities already involved in enhancing Listowel can be proud of their efforts and inpu...It is important to have Listowel in tip-top shape as they come unannounced and unidentified.Listowel,” Jackie added in guidance that is being adopted everywhere at present.