Pride of Place and Tidy Towns Awards 2016
Prize-winners gathered at Maynooth University on Tuesday evening 1st November, to reap the fruits of their work in the County Kildare Pride of Place and Tidy Towns competitions. Kildare County Council hosted a prize-giving ceremony for the winners who included young people, gardeners, residents associations and Tidy Towns committees from across the county.

The Mayor of Kildare, Councillor Ivan Keatley presented the prizes. He thanked the groups and individual citizens who had taken part for their work and achievements in their neighbourhoods.

This is the twenty-second year of the competition for tidy local authority housing estates. Prizes were awarded for voluntary work, community involvement and environmental impact. This year there were 35 entries representing over 50 estates, 21 prizes were presented in this category. 8 prizes were awarded in the Best-Kept-Garden competition.

This is the thirteenth year of the county council’s special awards scheme for young people who make an outstanding contribution to community life.

IPB National Pride of Place Competition 2016

IPB in association with Co-operation Ireland organise the National Pride of Place Competition every year and in doing so they give local authorities the opportunity to acknowledge the huge voluntary effort and great work being done every day by local communities throughout their county. The competition allows local authorities to nominate groups for exceptional work under various categories for the National Pride of Place Competition. The groups nominated by Kildare County Council in 2016 are as follows:

District: Naas MD

Category: Age Friendly Community Initiative

Nomination: McAuley Place, Naas

District: Newbridge/Kildare MD

Category: Communities Reaching Out Initiative

Nomination: Newbridge Family Resource Centre.

District: Athy

Category: Community Enterprise Initiative

Nomination: Athy Community Enterprise Centre

District: Maynooth

Category: Housing Estates

Nomination: Ashgrove Residents Association

District: Celbridge/ Leixlip

Category: Urban Neighborhoods

Nomination: Celbridge ISP

Kildare County Council is very proud to be associated with all the groups and we would like to wish all five groups the very best of luck in the National Pride of Place Awards Ceremony in Belfast later this month.

Kildare’s Tidy Towns groups were also recognised on the night for their ongoing work. A total of 41 towns and villages entered the competition this year and it has resulted in the best overall result for Kildare in the competition. A total of three gold, five silver and two bronze medals were previously awarded at the national Tidy Towns awards and these towns received a certificate to acknowledge this achievement.

All of the participating towns in the Tidy Towns competition receive a grant from the council. The groups were thanked by the Mayor for their valuable work and encouraged to continue their efforts to improve the local environment.

Full list of prize-winners:

Pride of Place
Best Kept Gardens
Youth Endeavour Award
Tidy Towns General Awards
Tidy Towns Kildare Merit Awards

Pride of Place Results 2016
Category 1 (1-20 Houses)
Runner up: Millview, Milltown

Winner: Millrace Lawns, Broadford

Category 2 (21-40 Houses)
Runner up: Chorrchoill Park Prosperous

Winner: Wheatfield, Ardclough

Category 3 (41-60 Houses)
Runner up: St. Brigid’s Terrace, Sallins

Winner: Park View, Clane


Category 4 (61 – 85 houses)
Runner up : St. Patrick’s Park Kill

Winner: Coarsemoor, Lodge Park & St. Brigid’s Terrace, Straffan

Category 5 (86 + houses)
3rd Place: William Pearse Terrace, Castledermot

2nd place: St. Evin’s park Monasterevin

Winner: Avondale, Leixlip

Community Development Category 2

3rd Place: Dunmurray Rise, Kildare

2nd Place: Moatview/Newline Grove, Kilmead

Winner: Ottomy Grove & Crescent, Clane

Community Development Category
3rd Place: Rosconnell, Newbridge

2nd place Ardrew Meadows, Athy

Winner: Ashgrove, Derrinturn

Other prizes

Best Newcomer: Sarto Park, Naas
Most improved & Highly Commended for their work with young people:

Loughnamona, Leixlip

Highly Commended: St. Patrick's Park, Celbridge

Commended: Father Murphy Place, Naas

Best Kept Gardens 2016
Overall Winner
Paul O' Rourke, 80 Ardrew Meadows, Athy

Commended

Trevor Dunne, 3262 Chorrchoill Park, Prosperous

Alfie Brennan, 578 St. Mary's Park, Leixlip

Paddy Sullivan, 656 St. Patrick's Park, Rathangan

Mandy Murphy, 6 Ottomy Drive, Clane

Stephen O' Sullivan, 16 Dunmurray Rise, Kildare

Judy Walsh 2850, Churchview, Suncroft

Tommy Loughrey, 940 St. Patrick's Park, Celbridge

Youth Endeavour Award 2016
Noah Doyle, Moatview, Kilmeade, Athy

Nikkita Darcy, William Pearse Terrace, Castledermot

Mia Kruger, Loughnamona Park, Leixlip

Keelin O' Driscoll, St. Patrick's Park, Celbridge

Bobby Binch, Wheatfield Upper, Ardclough, Straffan,

Dylan Connolly, Anne Street, Prosperous,

Nathan Muldoon, Chorrchoill Park, Prosperous,

Katie Dunne, St. Evin's Park Monasterevin,

Chloe Culbert, Rosconnell, Newbridge,

Tidy Towns winners 2016
Bronze medal winners
Ballymore Eustace
Clane
Silver medal winners
Celbridge
Kill
Leixlip
Newbridge
Rathangan
Gold medal winners
Maynooth
Naas
Straffan
(Note: medals are awarded to towns that get within a certain number of points of the overall national winner, in 2016, Skerries)

Endeavour Award for Kildare (for greatest improvement in marks from the previous year)
Carbury
Special Awards

Supervalu Tidy Towns Heroes (individuals nominated by their committees for outstanding contributions)

Joan Kerr, Kill Tidy Towns

Let’s Get Buzzing- Local Authority Pollinator Award
Maynooth (Best large town)

Kildare Tidy Towns Merit Awards for outstanding contributions to the work of the local Tidy Towns
Adrian Meaney Ardclough Tidy Towns
Sr. Declan Power Kilcock Tidy Towns
Carmel Nolan Kilcock Tidy Towns
Janet Carr Kill Tidy towns
Thomas Dunne Kilmeague Tidy towns
Tina Drury Maynooth Tidy towns
John Keegan Straffan Tidy Towns