Tidy Towns volunteers deserve great praise
Leo Kenny, Cathal Beattie, Paul Gaffey, Cllr Laurence Fallon, Orla Donnelly, Chairperson, Rahara Tidy Towns. Pic. Gerard O’Loughlin
They go about their work often unnoticed to the passer-by but their impact is seismic. Towns and villages across County Roscommon and the country are kept clean and tidy by an army of volunteers.
Without the work of these Tidy Towns volunteers, many areas, not least in the more rural areas, would fall into neglect.
Incredibly, there are now more than a 1,000 active Tidy Towns committees in the country and they are backed by a powerful movement of almost 30,000 volunteers. These are proud and passionate community activists highly committed to enhancing their towns and villages.
The work of these committees and volunteers were honoured at this year’s SuperValu Tidy Towns awards held in Dublin on Friday, with Boyle, Keadue and Roscommon Town being among the big county winners.
The North Roscommon village of Keadue continues to set the standards. Its Tidy Towns committee took home the county award along with its 13th gold medal. Keadue was also only three marks behind the overall winner, Abbeyleix in County Laois.
Boyle Tidy Towns won second prize and €1,500 in the inaugural Towns Centre First award behind Waterford’s Cappoquin while Roscommon Tidy Towns won its sixth consecutive gold medal.
Like all of those across the country, every Tidy Towns committee in the county and beyond can take a bow for the incredible hours members invest on a weekly basis.
Many of these volunteers are not just making our towns and villages more attractive but more also sustainable. The Tidy Towns awards in Dublin highlighted the increased focus on initiatives that have a powerful impact on biodiversity such as the development of pollinator friendly corridors and rewilding outdoor areas.
Speaking at the awards, Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys paid tribute to all the volunteers who work so hard all year round to ensure our communities are vibrant, sustainable places to live, work and visit. “You are truly an inspiration, and the embodiment of everything that is good in our communities,” she said. The county echoes that sentiment.
