TIDY TOWNS AWARDS HAUL

TIDY TOWNS groups from all over the county attended the prize-giving ceremony in Kilkenny’s Springhill Court Hotel last week.

The awards were presented by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, who said the awards were just a small reward for the efforts of so many volunteers who took pride in their home towns and villages.

In total, 30 towns and villages around Wexford took part in the prestigious yearly competition. All groups saw good progress being made from previous years and a number of County Wexford areas took home awards on top of their positive adjudications.

On the medal front, Wexford town retained its silver medal for the third year in a row, while Rosslare retained its bronze medal, also for the third year in a row. Enniscorthy also earned a bronze medal. Prizes for €700 and €400 were awarded for silver and bronze medals respectively.

County Awards of €1,000, €800 and €500 respectively were awarded to Rosslare, Ballycanew and Blackwater while Rosslare Harbour received an Endeavour Award of €500 for recording a 4.4% improvement on their score from last year’s competition.

In the SuperValu Tidy Towns Community Heroes Awards, Mary Gethings from Ferns was the overall winner while Lili Masterson from Ballycanew was highly commended.

Monageer Grotto and Sensory Woodland Walk won first prize in the Sustainable Development category, taking the top prize of €5,000. Finally, Ballyduff Tidy Towns group scooped second place in the Can It Award, winning a prize of €250.

Interest in the SuperValu Tidy Towns competition has been strong- er than ever in recent years with a record 883 communities entering the competition in 2018. The competition has been running since 1958 and is organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Referring to a recently announced grant scheme, the minister said: ‘I have nothing but admiration for the volunteers here tonight and across the country, and this grant scheme is recognition of the huge contribution made by committees to their community.’

Wexford Tidy Towns representatives with Minister Michael Ring at the SuperValu TidyTowns 2018 South East Regional Awards at the Springhill Court Hotel, Kilkenny.

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland president David Browne with Willie Kavanagh and Seán Doyle of Enniscorthy Tidy Towns.

Angela Breen and Mary Gethings of Ferns Tidy Towns with Minister Michael Ring.

Liz Hore of Enniscorthy Tidy Towns, right, with Dolores Farrell of SuperValu.

Liam Nolan and Ann-Marie Power of Monageer Tidy Towns.

Lulu O’Leary and Peter Kelly of Blackwater Tidy Towns.