Tidy Towns heroes return home Neill O'Neill WESTPORT’S all-conquering Tidy Towns committee returned to Ireland’s tidiest town amid scenes of sheer joy last Tuesday evening, where a large local crowd gathered outside the Wyatt Hotel to greet the heroes who had delivered a historic third national Tidy Towns crown.
Flanked by a Garda escort, Christy Cawley’s bus arrived at The Octagon close to 8pm, and to sustained applause, and with trophies in hand, Eithne Larkin and her team emerged to the most gallant scenes witnessed in Westport for many years.
Dozens of people from all walks of life waited patiently, with obvious pride in their eyes, for their chance to congratulate the large delegation who had been in The Burlington Hotel the previous evening to represent Westport. That event was televised live – allowing everyone to share in the excitement of the moment – but it quickly became clear that the homecoming was to be the real celebration, by the people who co-ordinated the year-long tidy towns effort, for all the people who had contributed to their astounding third overall win in seven years.
The Altamont Suite in the Wyatt Hotel quickly filled up, as scores of well-wishers converged to experience what was an unprecedented evening in the history of Westport. Undertones of excitement and admiration set the atmosphere as Westport Town Clerk Anne Moore took to the podium to welcome everyone to the celebration.
First to address the crowd before the music and dancing got under way was Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, Cllr Martin Keane, who, still suffering from the ill effects of a recent muscle strain to his lower back, spoke of how ‘magical’ the previous 24 hours had been.
“I watched with pride as Eithne collected the award for Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town,” he said, “but when it was announced that the winner of the overall prize of Ireland’s Tidiest Town was Westport, it was the ultimate moment of elation for me and all present. I have always believed in the community spirit and a common goal and Westport Tidy Towns Committee have proved how effective this can be. They have brought the coveted title of Ireland’s Tidiest Town to Westport on three occasions and future generations of Coveys will now be able to read with pride about these wonderful achievements.”
His words were echoed by his counterpart in Mayo County Council, Cathaoirleach Joe Mellett, who added that out of the seven awards Westport won at Tidy Towns 2008, the bi-lingual award is very dear to him.
“It is a source of great pride for us all that you have won this prize and there can be no doubt that what you have won this week is well deserved. Tonight is your night and I am proud to be a Mayo man among you,” he said, also commending the other towns and villages in the county which entered Tidy Towns, and urging them to follow the example of Westport.
Chairperson of Westport Tidy Towns, Eithne Larkin, then took to the stage under deafening applause.
“Last night was a very special one for me and I will never forget it,” she said. “I had the wonderful privilege of accepting the prize of Ireland’s Tidiest Town on behalf of all the wonderful people of Westport. It was only possible because of the huge effort of everybody in Westport, and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my committee and officers for the great support they have been. The 120 volunteers who take the business of keeping Westport tidy so seriously also have to be commended. There is great talk in Westport about partnership and for us it exists not just on paper, but on the streets every day.”
Eithne also paid tribute to the many bodies with whom her organisation collaborates, and their sponsors, and did not forget those who had gone before her; “Ann Wilkie, Paddy Hopkins, Frank Dolan, Bridie Moran, Lily Cunningham and Elsie Higgins to name but a few.”
Westport Town Manager, Peter Hynes, added that the story of the fiftieth anniversary of Tidy Towns is the story of Westport.
“All other towns and communities in Ireland worked hard this year, they all strove to be the name in that envelope last night, but only one has the trophy and that’s Westport,” he said.
“The magnitude of what has been achieved by this town, community, committee and all people is phenomenal. To win twice in three years and three times in seven years is truly remarkable.”
Lauding the efforts of volunteers over almost twenty years, he had particular praise for the four women who have led the local effort this decade saying: “Foundations are one thing but there are four phenomenal women without whom the success of the past ten years would not have happened.”
Naming Bridie Moran, Elsie Higgins, Lily Cunningham and Eithne Larkin, he said: “I never knew Granuaile personally, but I’m willing to bet that any of the four of them would give her a run for her money.”
‘Success at national level does not come easy’ ON a wintry January evening I chaired our first committee meeting of 2008. This meeting set the pace for the year with Angela Moran proposing that our goal for the year should be to win the National Award for the fiftieth anniversary year and that no stone should be left unturned. This got unanimous approval and so the wheels were set in motion for what turned out to be a very busy year.
First up was the bi-lingual seminar in February, another national first for Westport. This was a real success with delegates suggesting it should be an annual event. At the same time we were having workshops for our participation in the Dublin St Patrick’s Day Parade, which was an enjoyable experience with a delightful group of people.
Gum litter and dog litter had been the subject of many meetings since I joined Tidy Towns so I thought the time had come to address this in 2008. Town Foreman Eamonn O’Malley was the man that could help, so after gentle persuasion he sourced six dog litter stations which were later installed around the town. We did a trial with a new gum-cleaning product claiming to rid our streets of gum and then seal the paving so that gum would never stick again. The cost of getting this done throughout the whole town was prohibitive and we were not 100 per cent sure of the non-stick claims.
We continued all the initiatives that have proved so successful over the last number of years such as the Good Friday clean-up, the Sunday morning rotas, the summer rotas and the Monday evening clean-ups. Preparing window boxes and the painting of street furniture and bins were all undertaken in partnership with FÁS, and the Carrowbeg River was once again well taken care of by the Western Regional Fisheries Board. For the first time ever we set up a ‘flower committee’ – to liaise with the town gardeners Sean and Ian – on the planting schemes, and we certainly had the wow factor on the Castlebar Rd, the Clock and the Octagon to name but a few places.
May was a particularly busy month with as much work going on behind the scenes as outside. This is the month for delivering letters to all the business and householders reminding people of the upcoming judging and asking everyone to freshen up their premises and gardens for the judges. This is also the time we send out the all important sponsorship letters, over 400 in total. Sponsorship is critical to our success because even though all work is carried out on a voluntary basis, we spend a substantial amount on tools, paint, flowers and such. But, most importantly, May is the deadline for entering the Tidy Towns Competition. Not many people know this, but the report that accompanied this year’s application form was 165 pages with 77 photographs. When posting it off I thought the judges did not even need to come to Westport, they could just read the book! And somewhere in between all that I managed to catch a few hours study for my exam in June!
War was declared on the weeds on the gutters and chimneys in an early-morning blitz in July and mobile composting workshops were held. Litter collected by volunteers continued to be segregated in our recycling unit. Lists and phonecalls to the town foreman were a constant in my life and meetings here, there and everywhere had to be attended.
Visits were organised to Carrick-on-Shannon and Glenties to share with them how Westport works! And we were delighted to meet them at the awards ceremony and hear that both towns were award winners. This aspect of Tidy Towns is becoming very important and was even noted by the judges as a very worthy thing to do.
It is hard to quantify what winning the national award means to Westport. For anyone involved with Tidy Towns it is a feeling of absolute joy and delight, an endorsement of all the hours of hard work put in. For me personally, I just feel so proud and privileged to be in the position of chairperson at this time but would like to acknowledge the foresight of Ann Wilkie, Paddy Hopkins and Frank Dolan who were the founding members of Westport Tidy Towns many years ago. People have come and gone since but it is a result of all their hard work over the years that Westport is so successful.
Success at national level does not come easy and requires leadership, commitment, hard work, dedication and sacrifice. I would like to take this opportunity to simply say a big thank you to everyone who played their part in bringing the much coveted prize of Ireland’s Tidiest Town back to Westport.
Delight the dominant feeling
During the homecoming party for the triumphant Tidy Towns team, Neill O’Neill caught up with some of the key players who were involved in this year’s effort Lily Cunningham – former Chairperson, Westport Tidy Towns
“It is absolutely brilliant. We were so excited and it is a wonderful occasion on which to win the trophy – being the fiftieth anniversary it is certainly the year to be on top. We thought after winning in 2006 that our chances were limited but once we got the large town award we realised we were in for the big prize. I’ll never forget the excitement of when that envelope was opened.
“I wonder now how myself and Bridie Moran had the time to do all the work we did. It is a huge commitment, like a full time job, and your life is not your own for the two years that you have that responsibility. Like Eithne though, we had a wonderful team behind us and Westport Tidy Towns is a true team effort, and set up like running a business. For people coming on board now there is a structure in place and that has worked for us and brought us great success over the years.
“I think no matter what happens this occasion can never be repeated. To be in the Burlington hotel with so many people and live on TV it was just so wonderful. I will never forget it.”
Elsie Higgins –
former Chairperson, Westport Tidy Towns “I’ve lost my voice from all the excitement. It has to be the most exciting and proud day for Westport. I was so proud for everybody and for the town and I just wished all our members could have been there. I was crying when I heard Westport being called out. We won it two years ago and did not expect to win it again, but when the awards kept coming I got frightened and now to have won it is so amazing, it would have been heartbreaking to get that far and not win it. Emotional, excited and proud is how I feel now.
“We are already working on our strategy for next year and we’re coming up with a new three year plan. We will look at what the judges have said and aim towards some new and fresh ideas, and maybe some new and fresh people. I don’t know if we can improve on Westport, I’m not from Westport and I know I’m not a Covey, but I absolutely love this town and am so proud of all the people and am proud to live here and be a part of this success... now I’m going to cry again.”
Bridie Moran –
former Chairperson, Westport Tidy Towns “This last 24 hours have been some of the most exciting that Westport Tidy Towns have ever known. I never thought we would win again so soon but it is great to have done it. I was Chairperson for the first win and that was exciting, but this is on a different scale altogether. It is marvellous, and I’m delighted for everyone – especially Eithne – because she has put so much work into this.
“Tidy Towns has changed a lot in the ten years or so that I’ve been involved, and now, after a lot of hard work and effort by so many people, Westport has become synonymous with the national Tidy Towns competition.”
Ian Newham –
Westport Town Gardener “I watched the ceremony at home on TV and knew we were in for the big prize when we won tidiest large town. When it was announced that Westport won it was amazing, just bloody fantastic. There is a lot of hard work and planning goes into this, and the pressure is always there to keep the place looking fresh and to come up with new ideas.
“The head gardener Sean McLaughlin is brilliant, he knows everything about plants and trees and his design ideas are second to none. The enthusiasm is there and the benefits are clear to see. The planting this year was different and we had some French gardeners who were here for the anniversary of the Plougastel twinning who helped us.
“We don’t just do it for Tidy Towns, we do all the planting and would hate to see it die off so we work to maintain it all to a high standard, and the fact that Tidy Towns help us and we help them just seems like a natural relationship. The compliments we get also spur us on a bit. The baskets and window boxes are also superb this year, as well as the flowers in their beds.”
Eamonn O’Malley –
Westport Town Foreman “We are over the moon about this. I hoped we would retain all we won last year, but to go so much further was just amazing. I suppose not many of us will be around for the one hundredth anniversary of Tidy Towns, so it is really special to take the crown home for the fiftieth anniversary.
“Tidy Towns is a real team effort between so many groups and organisations – not least the committee themselves – but from a council point of view we have over a dozen dedicated outddor staff who are on call 24/7 every week of the year if needed. Each of them are brilliant in their areas, and they should know tonight that they have contributed massively to this success.”
