While the town waits with bated breath for the results of this years National Tidy Town Awards in two weeks time the local committee is busy planning its 30th Year Big Celebration. which will be held in the Shirley Arms Hotel on Friday Night October 9th. The committee, one of the busiest and most successful in the town, has every reason to celebrate. Over the three decades since its formation in 1985 the committee has literally changed the face of Carrickmacross and raised its national profile. The general consensus is that this year the committee surpassed itself in making our town the beautiful place it currently is.
Every year townsfolk look forward to seeing the flowers, the neatly cut approach roads, the well kept green areas and the general appearance of the town especially during the summer months. One often wonders if the committee is fully aware of the uplift in spirits that their work brings to the community at large. Over their thirty years of dedicated community service, the Tidy Town Committee has won almost every award with the exception of the premier title of Irelands Tidiest Town. The track record is impressive by any standards and the roll of honour includes titles and accolades such as Irelands Tidiest Large Town, Irelands Tidiest Small Town, Silver Medal in the European Florale Competition, winner of the Pride of Place Award, Runner up in Irelands Best Kept Town, County Monaghan’s Tidiest Town for sixteen successive years and the list goes on and on.
Tidy Town Secretary, Gerry Hand, one of the founders of the organization, when asked to sum up the success of the committee had this to say: “when a few people with a vision for the town got together in 1985 it was the start of what has become a hugely successful campaign over three decades. Two other of the founding members, Francie Cassidy and Denis Durcan, are still active and committed and we currently have a very hardworking small group of people without whom the town would be much less than it is. Of course there are dozens of others, some departed and some still around, who have also played their part and it is our wish and intention to acknowledge everyone’s contribution over the years at our big celebration in a few weeks time.
Most people will be aware at this stage that winning awards is only a part motivation for all the work our committee carries out. It is undoubtedly about pride in our own place. It is about a community taking ownership of its own environment. Down the years we have been very fortunate to have had not just a strong active committee but huge support from the local authority, its officers, elected representatives and workers as well as the business and residential areas. It is time to acknowledge everyone’s contribution, no matter how great or small. This, of course, also presents us with a difficulty, because there are many people who have worked quietly and in a very unassuming manner to further the cause and we want those people to join us on the night so we are asking people who have made an active contribution over the three decades to contact us so that we can have them present.
It would be a shame if anyone was overlooked so forget modesty and come and be with us on October 9th. You can contact any member of the committee and let us know or drop your name into a box that will be placed in the Civic Offices reception area in the next few days so that we can issue an invitation to the function. It is also incumbent on me to say a big thank you to everyone who got involved in this years campaign and I am confident that everyone’s efforts will be justly rewarded in a couple of weeks time when this years results are announced.”
The committee has also asked people to begin sending in their photographs for this years annual photo competition and the 2016 calendar which is being put together in the coming weeks. Details of this can be found on the Tidy Town link on the town website and the Tidy Town Facebook page.
The town wishes the committee well in the forthcoming results to be announced in early September.
