Ballinahown within five points of winning overall national Tidy Towns award

The pristine Westmeath village of Ballinahown was a mere five points away from winning the overall award in this year's Supervalu national Tidy Towns competition

With a combined total of 371 points, Ballinahown was five points shy of the county Laois heritage town of Abbeyleix which was named as Ireland's tidiest town with 376 points.

Ballinahown scored 15 more points in this year's competition compared to 2022, which saw them being awarded a gold medal for the first time and the village also scooped the county title for a remarkable 20th time.

Chairperson of the Ballinahown Community Development Association, Helen Conneely, paid tribute to the many new volunteers who have become involved in efforts to keep the village clean in recent years, and said the successful showing in the 2023 Tidy Towns awards “would not have been possible” without their input.

“We are really delighted, thrilled to have won the Gold medal and the county award,” she said, adding that since Covid-19 a lot of new volunteers have come on board in Ballinahown. “I think when people who were reared here come back and choose to settle down in a rural area such as this they are more invested in their locality, and we have many such young families in our community,” she said.

Helen Conneely also paid tribute to the many other people who work “day in, day out” to keep Ballinahown clean, including CE Scheme workers, Westmeath County Council staff and the staff and elected representatives on the Athlone-Moate Municipal District.

She said every tidy towns task that the local Community Development Association undertakes in Ballinahown is done “to benefit the local community” and the association is mindful of this when submitting their annual plans to the national Tidy Towns competition.

This aspect was commented on by the adjudicator who visited Ballinahown on two separate occasions earlier this year.

“Tidy Towns is not just about the competition, it is about developing community spirit, which you excel at,” the overall report for the village stated, noting that the committee of Ballinahown Community Development is “the driving force behind all that is good” in the local community.

The report also spoke about the positive aspects of “engaging with young people” in the local schools and the ability of the Development Association to access “considerable amounts of funding” which demonstrates the trust of agencies in their “ability to deliver on projects” that benefit the community.

The use of sculptures throughout Ballinahown village “makes it unique” said the adjudicator, adding that the artists involved “deserve great credit.”

The village was found to have be litter-free on the first day of the adjudicator's visit and the bottle bank was “spotless.” On the second visit, the adjudicator noted no evidence of “any litter or untidiness in the village or on approach roads and indeed some community volunteers were observed picking litter on the day. The village was pristine and completely litter free and you are to be commended for this.”