Welcome to Tallaght sign creates a sense of identity for the village
AFTER many years of campaigning, the committee members of Tallaght Community Council (TCC) were proud to unveil the first of three cast-iron ‘Welcome to Tallaght’ signs.
The first sign, located at Newtown in Tallaght Village, was unveiled last weekend and is the culmination of many years of campaigning by TCC.
Sinead Tighe, Tallaght Person of the Year 2017 and TCC’s voluntary inclusion officer, officated at the cutting of the ribbon for the new sign.
It has a particular resonance for Sinead as she has strong family links to Tallaght Village. Her grandfather ran Murphy’s grocery on Main Street, her uncle had the coal yard beside Nugent’s wool shop, and her great-aunt had a hairdressers’ in the village.
This year, TCC has a rotating Tallaght Person of the Year (TPOTY) as they have been unable to hold the awards ceremony as a result of the pandemic. Sinead is the first rotating TPOTY 2022.
Speaking after the unveiling, which was also attended by Newtown residents Patsy Dunne, Patricia Dunne and Des Sharkey, Sinead said: “It’s a real pleasure for me to be the first rotating Tallaght Person of the Year in 2022 to officiate at the unveiling of these wonderful signs that now stand proudly on some approaches to our village.
“My own family have strong links back to the village making this extra special for me.
“Tallaght Community Council has been pushing for many years to recognise and promote the heritage of our village in a more visual way.
“These cast-iron signs are a great way to start that in 2022. I commend Tallaght Community Council for persevering and getting the funding approved to make these signs a reality. It helps create a real sense of identity for the village.”
The heritage cast-iron signs were funded as a result of a grant from the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) in South Dublin County Council.
The Newtown sign is the first of three signs, the others are to be located on the Old Bawn Road by the Village Green and on the Greenhills Road by Bancroft Park, near the Poddle.
Local business Apt Signs in Bohernabreena sponsored the design work for the signs and, as there are no local producers of cast-iron road signage, the production was completed by Castit in Waterford.
“A hearty thanks to Dave Barnes and his team in Apt Signs for stepping forward and sponsoring the design work for these signs last year,” said Liz Kennedy, voluntary chairperson of TCC.
“It’s an example of how local businesses often answer the call from TCC to help deliver on a community project.
“The signs look great and proudly feature the Tallaght flag. The signs also reference the Poddle river that flows through the village – mostly underground now – and St Maelruain’s monastery.”
TCC added that they would like to thank the Traffic Department in SDCC and the crews from the Roads Depot in Ballymount for installing the signs for TCC.
