The presentation of awards in the 2017 “Clare in Bloom”, “Best Kept Local Authority Estate” and ‘Pride of Place’ competitions will be held at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis this evening.
The annual Clare Community Awards Night will be hosted by the Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council.
Clare in Bloom is a motivational mechanism for local community groups to enhance the visual impact of their towns and villages by means of flower, tree and shrub planting schemes. Ballynacally Tidy Towns was named overall winner of last year’s competition, while the Cathaoirleach’s Award was presented to Labasheeda Tidy Towns. Meanwhile, this year’s competition will see the inaugural Betty Devanny Memorial Award presented to the ‘Most Improved’ group.
In 2016, residents associations from around Clare were honoured in the ‘Best Kept Local Authority Estate’ competition. The overall winner was Connaught Road, Scariff, which was awarded an engraved plaque, a cheque for €600 and the Mary Hennessy Memorial Award.
The annual awards ceremony also will celebrate Clare’s participants in the 2017 IPB Pride of Place competition. An Garda Síochána’s ‘Clare Teenage Disco Initiative’ and the communities of Cooraclare and Cree were nominated bythe Rural Development Directorate of Clare County Council to participate in annual all-island competition, which is run by Co-operation Ireland and aims to recognise and celebrate the vital contributions that communities make to society. Judging took place in July while the category winners will be named at December’s all-island awards ceremony.
“This awards ceremony is a mark of Clare County Council’s programme of sustaining positive and co-operative working relationships with local groups,” commented Cllr. Tom McNamara, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council.
“This awards night, which is supported by numerous sponsors throughout Clare, is the Local Authority’s way of thanking community groups and individuals for the valuable work they carry out. Their work not only has a positive impact on their localities, but has a real benefit in terms of the economy and particularly in terms of tourism in Clare,” added the Cathaoirleach.
The Clare Community Awards Night takes place in the public foyer of Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, on Tuesday 17 October at 7.00 p.m.