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The Athenry Tidy Towns Committee have been making great strides in the implementation of Phase 4 of its “Five Year improvement Plan”.

The Plan outlined for this year is as follows:

1.      Participation in the National and Local Tidy Towns Competitions.

2.      Completion of all outstanding and new remedial works.

3.      Carry on all improvement works as mentioned in the 1995 Progress Report.

4.      Litter Control.

5.      Approach Roads.

6.      Competitions.

7.      Landscaping.

8.      Environment Projects.

Participating in the National and Local Tidy Towns Competitions has now become one of the cornerstones in our Five-Year Improvement Plan. The National Competition has now taken on a new judging criteria. In this year’s plan, while we will be concentrating on special aspects, cognisance will have to be given to this new judging criteria. As and from l997, our Plan will have as its main impetus “an overall development approach”. The winning of an award in the Local Competition last year has been a sense of joy and achievement to us and gives us great encouragement to continue with the work we have already started.

The main new remedial and improvement works that the Committee already carried out this summer are:

·        The putting in place of the triangular stone aptly inscribed at the Railway embankment

·        Sowing of bedding plants.

·        Construction of two new oval stone flower beds at the Arch.

·        Construction of stone flower beds at the bases of the “Welcome Sign” and “Children Crossing”.

·        Painting the house near Madden’s Forge. The putting in place nine window boxes, repairing of roof with appropriate openings for pigeon loft.

·        Ten hanging baskets erected on poles around town.

·        Footpaths and walkways cleared of all noxious weeds and scarified.

·        Our Vice-Chairperson Mr Johnny Delaney has also been carrying out a very comprehensive programme of landscaping ably assisted by the locals in the Caheroyan Area. Improvement works already carried out here has involved the construction of flower beds and the planting of trees and shrubs and the cleaning up of all open grass areas.

·        Erection of litter bins.

·        Clean-ups carried out by the Junior Tidy Towns Committee.

The competitions that were so successful last year are also being continued this year. Participation has been very heartening and it is wonderful to see that the townspeople are playing their own small part in helping to improve the appearance and character of our town. This can be seen by the colourful display of hanging baskets. window boxes and flower tubs and the renovation and face lift of businesses and houses. We are indeed very grateful to you all.

The Committee as part of its “Five Year Improvement Plan” have drawn up, compiled and costed a project titled “Home Composting and Civic Amenity Site at Athenry.” The project will be geared towards waste minimisation and re-use. This project which is the first of its kind in the county has also been included in the Department of the Environment’s “Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development Urban and Village Renewal Plan 1996-1999”. Arrangements have now been made with Galway County Council to have 100 Green Cones and Recycle Cones complete with kitchen caddies and accelerator powder delivered free of charge to householders in the area who have expressed an interest. This will be looked upon as a Pilot study in organic waste reduction for the rest of the County and a monitoring programme will also be put in place. The onus will be on every householder who has availed of the cones that they use them properly thus reducing the quantity of organic waste in their dustbins.

On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank all those people who voluntarily helped out during the summer months. Their skills were very much appreciated. The donation of soil for the flower beds near the church and elsewhere in the town and also the donation of stones has been heartily welcome. I would just like to conclude by saying that “If we all adopt a coherent and well co-ordinated approach and continue on with the good work we have begun, then this town of ours namely “Baile Átha ’n Rí will be all the better for our endeavours”.

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Written by Christy Coffey

Published here 05 Jan 2023 and originally published August 1996

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