Rising up Tidy Towns league

Mayo continues to rise up Tidy Towns league


Neill O’Neill

THERE were 35 entrants from Mayo in the 2008 National Tidy Towns Competition, with 14 awards won across the county.
Westport swept the boards in the golden jubilee year of the contest, hitting a record high of 303 marks out of a possible 400, but there were smiling committees also in Murrisk, Aughagower, Mulranny, Ballina and Belmullet.
Gaining five points to increase last year’s tally to 288 marks, Murrisk was placed second in the county, while Aughagower improved by seven points – up to 284 marks – to claim third spot in Mayo.
The village of Mulranny increased its score by eight points (267) and also retained its award in the ‘Notice Nature Category’, while Belmullet – with a score of 279 marks – was recipient of an endeavour award.
Murrisk also won a bronze medal, while the best shopfront in the west region went to Melvin’s Financial Services in Ballina. The north Mayo capital scored a unique double with the Angling Facility on the banks of the River Moy winning an architectural award.
Many other hard-working committees across the county were also celebrating last week as the improvements they had made this year were acknowledged in the Tidy Towns reports.
Ballina, Claremorris and Castlebar were among the big towns which recorded increases on their points, with Achill, Swinford, Kiltimagh, Charlestown and Louisbugh also rewarded for their hard work.
Smaller communities also reaped their rewards, with Clare Island, The Neale, Belcarra and Geesala all increasing their total marks.
With 219 marks, Killala remained on the same score this year as in 2007, while Newport bucked the general trend countywide, as their score dropped from 216 marks last year to 214 this time around.

TIDY TOWNS
SOME MAYO SCORES

Town/Village    2008*    2007*
Aughagower     284    277
Ballina              247    238
Ballinrobe         N/A    187
Belmullet          279    266
Clare Island      262    255
Inishturk            N/A    236
Louisburgh       239    232
Mulranny          267    255
Murrisk             288    283
Claremorris      216    212
Achill                200    194
Swinford          209    207
Charlestown/Bellaghy    207    203   
Partry               N/A    239
The Neale        253    242
Kiltimagh          258    253
Crossmolina    211    N/A
Castlebar         271    266
Newport           214    216
Belcarra           257    251
Cong               220    215
Killala              219    219
Geesala           213    207
*All scores out of 400