The 27th annual Ballyhoura Country Tidy Towns took place in Newtownshandrum on Wednesday night last, June 27th. This year there was over 35 entrants who competed for 6 prizes across 3 categories from across Ballyhoura Country.
The 2018 winners were
• Glenroe and Kilfinane Tidy Towns in the “Overall Development approach” category
• Charleville and Kildorrery Tidy Towns in the “Wildlife, Landscaping and Built Environment” category
• Ardpatrick and Newtownshandrum Tidy Towns in the “Tidiness and Litter Control, Sustainable Waste and Resource Management and Streets and Housing areas” category
Prizes are awarded based on improvements in marks received in the national competition year on year. The awards night is a celebration of all the hard work that TidyTowns groups have put in over the year. There were 70 attendees from communities right across the Ballyhoura area present on the night. This year, newly elected Cork Mayor Patrick Gerard Murphy and Sinead McDonnell the Environmental Awareness and Education Officer for Limerick City and Council attended and co presented the awards.
As well as the awards presentation, attendees enjoyed a talk on the ‘Native Irish Honey Bee’ by Pauline Walsh of the Three Counties Bee Keeping Association. A presentation on the LEADER Programme was delivered by Donna Cleary (Ballyhoura Development CLG) with a key focus on environmental projects, a strong theme within the LEADER Programme. On the night, attendees were given the opportunity to see some of the projects that Newtownshandrum Tidy Towns have been working on as well as touring the heritage of the village’s vernacular houses.
This year, the Ballyhoura Country Tidy Towns Awards was supported by Limerick City and County Council and kindly hosted by Newtownshandrum Tidy Towns group.
Ballyhoura Development CLG would like to take this opportunity to wish all participants the very best of luck in the upcoming judging season and encourage, as always, new groups to participate.