Limerick community groups nominated for Pride of Place competition
FOUR community groups have been nominated by Limerick City and County Council to compete in this year’s Pride of Place competition.
Tournafulla Community Council, Draw Out Limerick, Lough Gur Development Cooperative Society and Woodlawn Park Residents Association nominated as this year’s entries for Limerick.
The Irish Public Bodies (IPB) Pride of Place 2021 awards are presented in association with Co-operation Ireland.
This year marks the 19th anniversary of the all-island competition which is run in conjunction with local authorities north and south. It aims to recognise and celebrate the vital contributions that communities make to society along with generating awareness, respect and inclusion for every facet of society.
Traditionally each participating group holds a festival day showcasing its work and its impact on the community for the visiting judging panel.
However due to Covid restrictions, it was not possible this year to arrange visits to communities by the judges. While all judging took place virtually in 2020, a mix of virtual and face-to-face meetings with project promoters is the format adopted this year.
Limerick welcomed the judges on Monday to meet with representatives of two of the projects: Woodlawn Park Residents Association and Draw Out Limerick. Judging of the Lough Gur Development Co-operative Society and Tournafulla Community Council projects took place via online meetings on Tuesday.
Congratulating the four Limerick groups, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler said: “These four groups are wonderful advertisements for the community spirit that exists across the city and county. The purpose of the competition is to acknowledge the work being done by communities all over the island of Ireland, recognising endeavours of local people to create civic pride and make their communities great places to live. I think these four Limerick projects demonstrate how people can come together to shape, change and improve the daily lives of people in their communities. They also demonstrate real partnership with the council and show that all sections of the community can be included.”
Eileen Humphreys, Urban and Rural Community Development at Limerick City and County Council said: “The efforts and actions of communities are particularly relevant taking into account the challenges that presented over the last 18 months with Covid-19. Each of the nominated projects shows tremendous community spirit, offering support to people in their communities that need it, bringing together different sections of the community including young and older people and taking innovative responses to maintain and grow their projects. There is no doubt that the four groups nominated to Pride of Place this year will do Limerick proud and I wish them the very best of luck.”
The 2021 winners are expected to be announced at a ceremony either this winter or early in 2022.