Community has Pride of Place
By Taylor Gleeson
Lucan’s community spirit has been put to the test. The South Dublin County Council has nominated Lucan for an IPB Pride of Place award.
The Pride of Pace Award is given to communities that demonstrate a strong sense of community pride. The competition is based on an oral presentation, demonstrations of community activities and culture, and a tour of areas in the community that people are especially proud of.
Members of Lucan Tidy Towns: Kevin O'Loughlin, Marian McCabe, Pam Hegarty, Josephine Farrelly, Catherine O'Loughlin; Back Row: Joe Maher, Lucan Concert Band, Vincent Casey, Lucan Drama Society Photo by Philomena Duke
The presentation took place on Wednesday, June 19, and was led by six nominated organisations: Lucan Comhaltas, Lucan Disability Action Group, Lucan Festival, Lucan St Patrick’s Day Parade, Lucan Tidy Towns and Society for Old Lucan.
Founding member of Lucan St Patrick’s Day Parade Barbara Cummins said “It was a fantastic day, very emotional, and a pleasure to be there. For a week day and that time of the day it's was a great tribute to Lucan to see so many volunteers participate on the day.”
Over 150 volunteers represented 25 community groups were there to welcome the judges, having set up posters and banners at the entrance of the Presbyterian Church that displayed Lucan pride.
Judges were able to visit various parts of Lucan, including Lucan House and Demesne, the Weir, the medieval graveyard and the village park, before gathering at Kenny’s for music and refreshments.
Members of Lucan community groups were thrilled to be nominated for the award. Caroline Brady, from Lucan Disability Action Group and St Patrick’s Day Parade said “We hosted a very enjoyable day on Wednesday with the IPB Pride of Place Judges. They arrived at 2pm in Lucan and stayed with us until 5:30pm. The judges told me they very much enjoyed the day, loved meeting our people, and spending time with us hearing the wonderful stories of the work our brilliant community organisations do every day in Lucan.
“The breadth and scope of the work we do every day is truly phenomenal. To put it in perspective the combined years of service of the groups participating in the competition is almost 1,000 years, continue that thought and multiply that by every volunteer, it’s hundreds of thousands of years’ service to our community in Lucan. That’s sometime we all should be very proud of, that’s what we celebrated today and that’s the story I was very honoured to tell the Judges on behalf of all the community groups in Lucan.”
Judging for the award started in June and continues to the end of August. The award will be presented at a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 30 at the Lyrath Estate Hotel, Kilkenny.
