Volunteers paint railings and lampposts on Athlone town bridge

Athlone Tidy Towns has expressed its gratitude to a group of volunteers who painted the railings and lampposts on the town bridge to help give its appearance a boost ahead of the festivals in the town this August bank holiday weekend.

The volunteers were organised by Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, who said they began painting at around 5am on Sunday and continued until they had completed the job at around 1pm that day.

"It was a great achievement to get it all done in a day. It brightens up the bridge, and the flowers on it are looking well," said 'Boxer'.

"I want to give great credit to the lads. Without them this wouldn't have happened, and they were all brilliant. The Tidy Towns paid for the paint, and we did the work."

He also thanked Simon Coghill of Athlone Hire Shop, in Blyry Business Park, who provided a hoist free of charge for use during the painting job.

"It was a community effort," said 'Boxer'. "There's another job that we're going to take on for (Athlone Tidy Towns) in the future, but we're working together as a unit.

"Everyone is there to try and do their best for the town, and, if anyone out there wants to volunteer, there's always room for one more!"

He said the work had been done in light of a number of upcoming events in the town, including the Féile na Sionainne and Viking River Fest festivals this weekend, along with a Heritage Week festivities later in August which are being organised by the Connaught Street and Environs Community Group.

In a social media post, Athlone Tidy Towns thanked the volunteers who had painted the railings and lampposts "to a very high standard" at the weekend.

The Tidy Towns group said the work had started early in the morning to minimise the disruption to pedestrians, and that the fresh coat of paint "makes such an enhanced difference to the appearance of the bridge".