Speech at the unveiling of a plaque to mark Kilkenny’s selection as the winner of Tidy Towns 2014
Kilkenny Castle, 6th June 2015
A Dhaoine Uaisle,
Tá an-áthas orm a bheith anseo i gCill Chainnigh inniu chun comhghairdeachas a dhéanamh libh as ucht Comórtas na mBailte Slachtmhara 2014 a bhuachan. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht na fíorchaoin fáilte a d’fhear sibh romham.
[Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here in Kilkenny today to congratulate you for winning the 2014 Tidy Towns Competition. Thank you for that warm welcome.]
The Tidy Towns Competition is a great example of the transformative power of active citizenship; we see how that spirit of active citizenship can lead on to regeneration and renewal – contributing to the creation of a more beautiful environment.
We are here today to recognise the achievements of those who have contributed their time and effort to their community. Because of their commitment Kilkenny was chosen last year, and for the second time in the history of the Tidy Towns Competition, as Ireland’s Tidiest Town.
I imagine that the second win is no less sweet than the first, which took place in 1985. We all know that Kilkenny is no stranger to success. For those of us from other counties with an interest in hurling, the level of that success can sometimes seem overwhelming – and it is not showing any signs of falling off!
The Tidy Towns Competition provides an excellent avenue for people to effect change and to turn villages, towns and cities across this country into communities rather than simple places of residence, where neighbours and friends come together to build a better place they can be proud to call home.
Achieving the Tidy Towns award, and being chosen ahead of 848 other entrants, shows that you are a community that values your public spaces, and that you possess a great capacity to work together, and to make sacrifices for the benefit of your community and all its residents. That quality of voluntarism, of collective generosity with regard to time and skills is something to be treasured and nurtured, and I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the contribution you have all made to your community. The giving of time, often a precious resource, to others strengthens the fabric of our societies and defines the communities and the republic in which we live. Without active volunteers, communities cannot flourish.
The city itself has also enjoyed great success in recent years. Awards such as being voted Ireland’s Top Tourism Town in 2013 and receiving the Condé Nast award as the friendliest City in Europe, and the 9th friendliest in the world, are worthy signs of recognition to the business and wider community of Kilkenny who have done so much to make this a place of great welcome to visitors from Ireland and from overseas.
Kilkenny’s success as a tourist destination owes much to the work of the volunteers of the ‘Keep Kilkenny Beautiful’ committee. It is also a result of your close ties with the Local Authority, Residents Associations, voluntary groups, the business community and Fáilte Ireland, all working together to promote the best of what Kilkenny has to offer.
Generations of Kilkenny people, both newcomers and long standing residents, have developed and executed a vision for Kilkenny. This vision involves respecting your medieval past while building a sustainable future. All of the factors that lead to Kilkenny’s success are based on its citizens’ active participation in their community. Whether it’s the development of the Medieval Mile or the recent flurry of spring cleaning around the city, your constant commitment to rejuvenation, restoration and re-imagining ensures that Kilkenny remains a dynamic and vibrant place.
The Tidy Towns competition is not simply about how good a town looks on the surface. It is about motivating sustainable change, working together to make your village, town or city the very best it can be. It is about encouraging an interest in preserving your local natural resources and appreciating your wildlife. It is about appreciating and preserving your built environment. An important part of the competition is its focus on an overall developmental approach, where you show the practical steps you have taken to involve all of your community. Your multi-annual plan is very useful to the adjudicators, but it is also important to your committee as it shows your ambitions for Kilkenny and sets milestones to be achieved. True and lasting change requires a long term and rounded view of what is needed to sustain a healthy and flourishing community.
The ethos of the Tidy Towns competition is powerful in its simplicity. While there are many similar competitions across Europe, the Tidy Towns Competition is the only one so steeped in the voluntary effort of its citizens. Individuals can achieve great things for their communities but working as part of a group at a local level brings synergies and makes so much more possible. The competition itself is fundamentally about recognising the effort local people put into their locality. To recognise these efforts the competition needs sponsorship and SuperValu deserve credit for having sponsored this competition now for nearly a quarter of a century.
It is always encouraging to see young people involved in their community. You recognise the value of what your young people have to offer their community with projects such as the Ossory Youth Garden, and it is also great to see that the Tidy Towns Competition this year will recognise the value of young people in their communities with the SuperValu Youth Award. It is important to engage the talent and creativity of our young people here and now – they are a huge source of talent and energy in the present moment, and an achievement such as this can inspire them to affect the changes they wish to see in their lives in the future.
To finish may I, once again, salute the dedication and commitment of all of you who volunteered your time, skills and resources in working towards this great achievement – residents, schools, local businesses, Kilkenny County Council, and other public agencies should all be very proud of your huge contribution.
You take ownership and responsibility for your community and help to build a better society. Today, as we look around the well-tended grounds of Kilkenny Castle, we know we are in the midst of a community that looks to the future, and also looks after its past.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir, guím gach rath ar bhur gcuid oibre, agus comhghairdeachas libh arís.