Tullamore's prettiest street is bursting with colour

It's the prettiest street in Tullamore – a riot of colour and community spirit.

Davitt Street, lined with vibrant hanging baskets and planters overflowing with flowers, is winning admiration from locals and visitors alike. On match days especially, when crowds walk towards O’Connor Park, the street’s floral displays draw countless compliments.

For the residents, it’s not just about flowers, it’s about pride, teamwork and friendship.

Kevin Boyce, Chairman of the residents committee, explained how it all began.

''It started in 2006 when the street was celebrating its centenary. The residents made a special effort to have the street looking its best and after, they decided to keep it going,'' he said.

Kevin, originally from Tyrone and living on Davitt Street for the past ten years, praised the dedication of his neighbours.
''It’s a really solid committee that has been here for the past two decades now. There is Catherine Conlon, Donal Fox and Pauline Meehan. They have all been here and of course Shane Murray,'' he said.

There’s a friendly touch of competition too.
''Every house will put up their own frontage, and there is a bit of friendly competition. We work together as a committee and we put up our hanging baskets on the poles. The other thing is our street cleaning. We try to keep the place clean and enter into any competitions that we can get into,'' said Kevin.

Support also comes from outside. ''We apply for grants with Tullamore Credit Union and Offaly County Council. We have been doing that quite successfully for the last few years,'' he added.

But just as important as the flowers is the sense of community. Kevin explained: ''The last thing we do as a committee is we advocate for the street and what is needed. Cars can go past very fast. We don’t have gardens, we are a tight community and we like to have our kids out so we are trying to advocate to make the street a little more safe for our kids and everyone. That’s really important.''

''Everyone will fund their own baskets. But we always try to help one another out. For some people who maybe didn’t have the funds or capacity, our resident gardener, Alo Keeley, provided the baskets for them. We have a monthly collection where we ask every household to contribute a fiver a month that helps with any group stuff we want. But if anyone wants help with baskets we will help them,'' said Kevin.

The flowers, though, are just part of the story. Over the years, Davitt Street has become known for its parties and gatherings.
''It has brought residents together. We try to have a party maybe once or twice a year. We would have a Christmas Party in St Mary’s Hall and we have street parties. People who grew up on the street will turn up and then there are people going back generations who will turn up as well,'' said Kevin.

Committee member Donal Fox fondly recalled the 2006 centenary celebrations.

''We closed off the street, we put tents up and we had food. The council gave us permission to stop the traffic. Brian Cowen who as Minister for Finance at the time, came up and said a few words. Williams gave us a lorry and we had music. It was a great day. We even had security as before that we had people trying to pull the plugs out,'' laughed Donal.

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And the tradition of get-togethers continues.''The Tea Party last year brought everyone out,'' said Shane Murray.

From flowers to festivals, Davitt Street is proof that when neighbours pull together, something beautiful blooms.