Hard work pays off for Tidy Towns groups and volunteers
By Brendan Grehan
VILLAGES and towns in South Dublin that entered this years Tidy Towns performed well again in the competition.
Ahead of the pack was Lucan who won a bronze medal for the second year running. Woodstown Village also did well increasing their points by 12 this year while Clondalkin increased their points by six.
The Mayor of South Dublin, Councillor Mark Ward, congratulated all the local tidy-town committees.
Mayor Ward told The Echo: “I would like to congratulate all Tidy Groups in South Dublin County Council who again increased their scores in the 60th National Tidy Towns Competition.
“I would also like to acknowledge the huge effort and commitment by all the volunteers in our County involved in their local Tidy Towns.
“Thank you to you all for your fantastic contribution. A special congratulations to Lucan, who achieved a bronze medal for the second year running, I am delighted with their hard work and commitment which has paid off and is recognised in this competition.”
Kevin O’Loughlin from Lucan Tidy Towns Committee was pleased with winning a bronze medal for two years running.
He said: “Lucan Tidy Towns has been “on the go” for well over 20 years. Over the years the Tidy Towns competition has evolved from being about removing litter and planting flowers and shrubs to looking after architectural heritage, conservation and waste reduction, among other things.
“Planning ahead and involving schools, organisations and businesses and of course South Dublin County Council are now vital to make a difference.
“We are delighted to achieve another bronze medal, with an increase in our score of 7’ – it makes the hard work even more worth the effort.
“It can be difficult sometimes to get motivated when we are faced with the work we have to do to get in our entry form and put on a good show for the Tidy Towns adjudicators.
“But when we’re out on a Saturday working with our friends we get a great buzz when we’ve made even a small improvement in our village. So we feel it is well worth it.”
Over in Woodstown Village, Gabriel Curtis said his committee were delilghted that they have increased their points for the fifth year in a row and were up by 12 points on last year.
He said: “The most incredible thing people need to keep in mind here is that Woodstown is just a small housing estate in Knocklyon.
“It is unbelievable we do so well in the Tidy Towns and everyone who helps out in any way should feel a lot of pride about that, it’s an outstanding achievement, well done to all our volunteers who helped out this year especially our Junior Committee who have worked their socks off as usual.”
Palmerstown also increased their points by eight to 264. It was an increase of 45 points in four years.
They increased their points in six out of eight categories and remained the same in two categories.
