Fermoy cleans up in IBAL league
TRIUMPH TOPS OFF ANOTHER REMARKABLE YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENTS FOR THE TOWN
IT’S official – Fermoy is Ireland’s tidiest town after topping the overall 2018 Irish Business Against (IBAL) Litter League – regaining the title that it last held more than a decade ago.
Fermoy finished in poll position on last October’s table, prompting Fermoy Tidy Towns’ group manager Paul Kavanagh to declare the town was in a “strong position” to claim the overall national title for 2018.
And to the unbridled delight of the Fermoy contingent who travelled to Dublin last Monday for the unveiling of the final table, his confidence proved to be well-founded.
“This is a great credit to everyone who has worked so hard to make Fermoy a great place to work, live in and visit. We are all on cloud nine,” he beamed.
“It is now up to us to keep that momentum going to ensure we remain at the top of the league table.”
SINCE last topping the final standings of the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) in 2006, Fermoy had become the ‘nearly town’ – finishing twice in the top three and making it into the top 10 on a number of occasions.
The town finally put that tag firmly to bed this week after finishing top of the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league for 2018.
Having finished in pole position on last October’s interim league table, hopes were high that Fermoy would remain top of the pile.
Speaking to The Corkman at the time, Paul Kavanagh, project manager for the Fermoy Tidy towns Group, said the standing was a reflection of the hard work done since the establishment of the five-year ‘Fermoy – A Cleaner Town’ initiative.
“We are now in a very strong challenging position for the overall national spot,” he said.
To the unbridled delight of the Fermoy contingent who travelled to Dublin last Monday for the unveiling of the final 2018 table, his confidence proved to be well-founded.
Fermoy’s triumph topped off what had, by any standards, been a remarkable 2018 for the town, which in addition to winning back its coveted IBAL ‘Cleaner Than European Norms’ designation, scooped the ‘Best Improved Town’ category in Cork County Council’s Anti-Litter Challenge and broke the magical 300-point barrier in SuperValu Tidy Towns Competition.
In their report, IBAL judges were fulsome in their praise for the town, saying Fermoy had “exceeded its usual high standards of cleanliness throughout 2018”.
“It was notable at many of the sites that great care has been taken not just with regard to litter but also overall presentation, with plenty of planting throughout,” said the judges, who singled out Patrick Street, the residential areas surveyed, and Fermoy AFC and their grounds for particular praise.
The judges said it was evident that great care had been taken with the presentation of the local environment, describing the town as being “excellent” in relation to the overall lack of litter.
Speaking to The Corkman this week, Mr Kavanagh said Fermoy’s triumph was a model for what can be achieved when an entire community comes together to achieve a goal.
“What struck me was the number of towns that fell down the table – this is what happens when you take your eye off the ball,” he said.
“We have built up an immense civic pride in the town and it is now up to us to keep that momentum going to ensure we remain at the top of the league table,” said Mr Kavanagh.
“This is a great credit to everyone who has worked so hard to make Fermoy a great place to work, live in and visit. We are all on cloud nine,” he grinned.
The chair of Fermoy Tidy Towns, Cllr Noel McCarthy, said Monday was a “proud day” for him personally and indeed the whole town.
“This is not the culmination of our plan, far from it. Our next target is to improve our standing in the Tidy Towns competition, something that is well within our reach,” said Cllr McCarthy.
“We have worked hard for many years to get back to the top of the league, and the fact that we have achieved that is testament to the many volunteers and people whose hard work made that possible,” he continued.
A point echoed by Fermoy Tidy Towns PRO Tadhg O’Donovan, who said th volunteers were “the real heroes”.