KEEPING KERRY CLEAN

IT’S one of the few occasions when people from across the Kingdom are in unison for the same cause as volunteers from Ballybunion to Bonane and Dingle to Rathmore added another footnote to the successful County Clean-Up Day on Saturday. It’s an occasion that generates huge goodwill in communities and an important sense of responsibility for children on the importance of taking pride in their locality. The good news is that organisers say there has been no increase in the amount of rubbish collected since last year, with a welcome reduction in fly tipping and discarded glass also reported. However, the main culprits remain paper cups, cans and plastic bottles.

A measure of how effective County Clean-Up is can be seen in the numbers: eight years ago there was 500 volunteers recorded; yet the number of volunteers on Saturday swelled to over 6,500. On the main Killarney/Tralee road, 105 bags of rubbish were collected, while the famous tourist route from Muckross Hotel to Molls Gap, 84 bags were filled. In total, a staggering 9,000 bags were filled throughout the county in one day.

Run in conjunction with Kerry County Council and KWD, County Clean-Up day is being hailed as the ‘envy of Ireland’ by its organisers due to the cooperation it gets from the public. Moreover, Kerry is the only county in the National Tidy Towns with four different towns chosen even The had as Aghadoe national a visit from winners. volunteers Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who was overwhelmed with the level of enthusiasm and positivity created by the event. “It was our best year ever. The Taoiseach said Clean-Up Day created ‘a great sense of community spirit’ and brought huge benefits. It was definitely an eye-opener for him,” said Johnny McGuire, Coordinating Committee member of Clean-Up Day.

“It puts it in people’s psyche the importance of keeping places free of litter, and is one of the few times in the year when we’re all singing off the same hymn sheet. We’re famous for football in Kerry, but we’re also champions in the County Clean-Up Day. The concept of Tidy Towns is strong throughout the county and this is bearing fruit. Great credit is owed to all the people who can be proud of Saturday’s work,” Johnny added.

The County Clean-Up Committee comprises of Johnny McGuire, Donal Mangan, Una O’Connor, Sean Murphy and Noel O’Reilly.

Photos by Valerie O’Sullivan right: Volunteers from Killarney along with staff members of Kerry County Council and KWD Recycling, gather at Daly’s for The Annual KWD County Clean-Up Day.

ABOVE: Killarney Hoteliers out in force…Conor Hennigan, Terrence Mulcahy, Sinead McCarthy, Fiona Collins , Padraig Treacy, Bernadette Randles, President of Kerry Branch Irish Hotels Federation and Emer Corridan

Photo by Valerie O’Sullivan Volunteer Aidan De Vroome, Caherciveen Tidy Towns, cleans the Skellig Monument, at The Annual KWD County Clean-Up Day.

From left, by Valerie O’Sullivan An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, called to Aghadoe during the annual County Clean-Up Day with dedicated volunteers Mary McGillicuddy, James Daly, Killorglin. Mike Myers, Barleymount and Johnny McGuire, Killarney.Photo

Photo Valerie O’Sullivan Sneem Tidy Towns Volunteers, Jane Evans, Tadgh Healy, KWD and Sharon Evans.