County Kilkenny town nominated for All-Ireland award
From this week's Johnstown Notes
The Johnstown community has been nominated for the All Ireland Pride of Place Awards 2024. This is a competition that acknowledges the work that communities do to shape and improve the area that they live in. Last week two of the All- Ireland judges were welcomed to the village as well as a number of people from Kilkenny County Council.
The central point of the event was the newly refurbished Community Hall, with a walk around the village, visits to both schools, the community garden and the historical site at Grangefertagh. With the recent announcement that Kilkenny County Council are awarding 50% of the funds to commence refurbishment of the balcony seats, it was a great opportunity to acknowledge their support and show them all the work completed on the hall.
The award is an acknowledgement of all community groups in Johnstown including Town Team, Hall Committee, Spa Development, Heritage and Historical, Sports Clubs, Schools, Sportsfield, Playground, Walks and Trails, Community Concern, St Mary's Hall, graveyard groups and two beautiful churches.
The judges first commented on how beautiful the place looked and this was the result of all the work done by Vincent, Tom and numerous volunteers and also the Council workers who have supported in lots of ways. A five minute snapshot of interviews with various people was shown, with the full tape to be shown in the future.
Johnstown will now go forward as a nominee under the creative communities category at the All-Ireland event in November.