Blackrock Tidy Towns 'delighted' to have retained Gold medal

Blackrock Tidy Towns was the winner of the SuperValu Tidy Towns County Award for Louth, announced on Friday at the SuperValu Tidy Towns awards ceremony at the RDS in Dublin. Competing in category D, towns with a population of 2,501-5,000, Blackrock also retained its gold medal, and achieved a mark of 360, out of a maximum mark of 550. It is up from the 353 marks it achieved in 2021.

Among the comments the adjudicators made on Blackrock Tidy Towns entry for this year, they said: “Your committee of 10 people with a further 30+ volunteers are obviously very hard working and dedicated and it shows.”

It was commended for its support for “the local ICA, Sea Scouts, GAA and Soccer Club as well as two local hubs of St John of God who work with the Park committee and on litter picks.” The adjudicators added that “so many buildings and businesses have put their best foot forward”, and noted that “Blackrock Park was an absolute delight to visit, to wander in and amongst, chatting to very friendly locals.”

Attention to nature and biodiversity in Blackrock was noted by the adjudicators, who said that “your new wildflower planting was coming into bloom on adjudication day and looking very attractive. It is good to know that the seeds are being collected and harvested for future use.”

In terms of sustainability, Blackrock Tidy Towns was commended, with adjudicators saying, “You have an impressive number of projects in this category, many now annual events due to their success”, and “the amount of work carried out by both schools is truly excellent.” Looking at tidiness and litter control the adjudicators said that “in general the standard of tidiness throughout Blackrock was excellent.”

They also noted that in residential streets and housing areas, “there are a great variety of housing estates in Blackrock and each with their own style and charm. That said, the standard of presentation was good throughout.” They added that “no matter which approach road one takes, the welcome to Blackrock still warms the cockles. “Attractive names signs with appropriate planting and gravel are just lovely to see”.

In their concluding remarks, the adjudicators said, “it was an absolute pleasure to visit Blackrock and to experience first hand the excellent improvements and initiatives undertaken by the Tidy Towns Committee and the many volunteers who support them resulting in the great town Blackrock has become.”

Blackrock Tidy Towns told the Dundalk Democrat following Friday's awards ceremony that it “is delighted that we have retained our gold medal and are county winners in the recent National Tidy Towns awards. “It is testament to the hard work by our committee, as well as the many volunteers and traders who work hard throughout the year to present Blackrock so well.”

The group continued, “Special thanks is due to Pat Rafferty and the lads on the Fane Community Employment Scheme who do important work on a daily basis. Our many sponsors deserve credit for supporting our activities in so many ways. We are delighted for our sister Tidy Towns groups in Louth, the county came away with awards also, Dundalk, Drogheda, Knockbridge, Tallanstown, Dromiskin, Carlingford and Ardee.

"All prize money will be spent on improving our community into the future. Our first fund raising event in three years will be the table quiz to be held in the golf club on the evening on Wednesday the 9th November."