Ballinahown Development Association/Tidy Towns: Club of the Year finalist
When the picturesque village of Ballinahown won a gold medal on the European stage at the Entente Florale competition, it was the culmination of more than 30 years of hard work and voluntary effort by the close-knit local community.
Despite the fact that the village has just 75 inhabitants, it has been punching above its weight for many years for its innovative and community-focused approach to making it a wonderful place to live.
“We have a great community of volunteers here and a great CE Scheme and everyone works together to make the village the award-winning location that it is,” says Cllr John Dolan, who is vice-chair of the Ballinahown Development Committee.
He points out that the approximately 500 people living in the hinterland around Ballinahown are also hugely proud of their local village, and many of them are also involved as volunteers in the various organisations that work collectively to keep the village looking pristine.
John says the volunteers on the development committee and the Tidy Towns as well as other organisations are “always thinking of the next project” they can get involved in to improve facilities and the quality of life for the people of Ballinahown and its environs.
He says winning a gold medal in the national Tidy Towns competition last year was “over 30 years in the making” for Ballinahown and he expressed the hope that it will be “the first of many” in the coming years.
“It's great to win medal, but it’s not all about winning medals either,” points out Cllr Dolan; “we have a very close-knit community who all work together in a voluntary capacity for the betterment of the whole area, and while we might not always agree on everything, we always reach a consensus and we are all very proud of the strides we have made in Ballinahown.”
The other Club of the Year finalists are Athlone Triathlon Club and Rosemount Social Initiative.
The Westmeath Independent Community & Sports Awards 2024 takes place at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel on Thursday.
The Club of the Year category at the Westmeath Independent Community & Sports Awards 2024 is sponsored by Specsavers