Local village to fly flag in Europe

Ballinahown will represent Ireland next year in the prestigious Entente Florale, a Europe-wide competition that aims to promote the importance of the green environment to the quality of living of communities.

The good news was revealed by local Fine Gael Cllr John Dolan, who is Vice Chairperson of Ballinahown Community Development group, at Monday's Westmeath County Council meeting. The village, a hugely consistent performer at the top of the National Tidy Towns competition over many years, is set to be the first ever Westmeath representative to fly the national flag in the international competition among nine countries.

“Our Chairperson Helen Conneely was approached by the National Tidy Towns put us forward for Entente Florale, and we're honoured to have been asked. We have been picked from 600 villages nationally to represent Ireland and Westmeath,” said Cllr Dolan. “Living in Ballinahown you sometimes take it for granted but this news shows how special it is.”