Speech to mark Letterkenny’s winning of the Tidy Town’s Competition 2015
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, 11 June 2016
Tá áthas orm a bheith anseo inniú chun mórghníomh Leitir Ceanainn a cheiliúradh libh, is é sin Comórtas na mBailte Slachtmhara 2015 a bhuachaint. Is mian liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháíl le Coiste na mBailte Slachtmhara as a gcuireadh dom bheith libh anseo, agus libhse ar fad aás an bhfíorchaoin fáílte sin.
[I am delighted to be here today, to mark and celebrate Letterkenny’s achievement in being named Ireland’s Tidiest Town in 2015. I would like to thank the TidyTown’s Committee for inviting me to join you, and all of you for that generous welcome.]
Almost six decades have passed since the launching of the TidyTown competition, designed to bring communities together in a spirit of neighbourly pride for the town in which they live. It is an initiative that was conceived and grew through a great belief in the power of individual communities to effect positive and sustainable transformation, the power of a village or town to become a stronger community.
In the intervening years, generations have acted and built upon that belief in towns and villages across the country. Neighbours, friends and local business owners have come together in collective efforts to enhance their towns; re-imagining, rejuvenating and realising the possibilities of the place in which they live and work and raise their children.
In 2015, as in every other year, we witnessed just what can be achieved when communities come together with a shared aim and a common goal. I know that here in Letterkenny you are rightly proud of your great achievement in being named Ireland’s Tidiest Town, but I am sure that you are equally proud of the strength of community and spirit of active participation that lay at the heart of that achievement.
Anyone who is familiar with taking part in, or judging, the TidyTowns competition will know of the considerable commitment and determination; and the many, many hours of hard work and exertion that takes place behind the scenes. They will be familiar with the great generosity of citizens who find the time and the energy, in the middle of their busy lives, to take part in cleaning up projects, maintenance tasks, and sourcing and raising funding, and who, in so many other ways play their part in bringing together a shared vision and thereby creating a renewed environment built on a spirit of co-operation, and real participation.
Agus mé ag breathnú thart orm inniu, feicim na plandaí áille agus an tírdhreachadh, gan trácht ar an mbealach a bhaineann sibh leas as na spásanna oscailte sa bhaile, ní haon íonadh dom é gur bain sibh an chéad áit sa chomórtas, thar ocht gcéad seasca 'sa dó (862) bailte agus sráidbhailte a chur isteach ar Chomórtas na mBailte Slachtmhara anuraidh. Tá súil agam go bhfuil sibh ar fad thar a bheith sásta leis an éacht atá curtha i gcrích agaibh.
[As I look around me today I see the beautiful plants and landscaping, and the creative use of open spaces that saw Letterkenny heralded as first amongst the eight hundred and sixty two towns and villages across the country that entered last year’s TidyTowns Competition. That is an achievement in which you can take great pride.]
But equally impressive are the brush strokes that went in to creating this beautiful picture. I speak, of course, of the spirit of co-operation, the strength of community and the will to effect affirmative change which carried Letterkenny to victory, and which marks this town out as a place of which its citizens can be very proud.
Letterkenny is, of course, a place with a long and rich heritage. I was most interested to read, before I travelled here today, of the description of the town that was entered into the Civil Survey of 1652-56
“There is a town called Letterkenny which hath a market every Friday and two fairs in the year with a fair Church and a bridge at the east end over the River Swilly”
reminding us that Letterkenny began its life as a small market town in the 17th century, before evolving into an agricultural town and then into the busy urban centre we know today.
Letterkenny is a town which holds a rich history in its beautiful old buildings, which include the Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba, and the Donegal County Museum housed in what was once the Workhouse. Like all towns, its architecture creates a profound connection to the past, speaking so much of the heritage, background and circumstances which have shaped our history and helped to craft the present.
It reminds us of the unique role that Letterkenny has played in the narrative of our state; for instance, that Charles Stewart Parnell has an ancestral link to the town, and that the Market Square once hosted a Land League meeting at which Michael Davitt addressed over ten thousand people.
I am delighted that Letterkenny has ensured that its history and heritage continued to retain its rightful place as the town grew and evolved into a modern urban centre; its old structures and landmarks sitting easily alongside the new developments and enhancements which will also play their important part in the ongoing story of Letterkenny.
Cá bhfios céard a thiocfaidh chun cinn sa todhchaí. Ach inniu tá cúis ceiliúrtha ag mhuintir Leitir Ceanainn, mar is fiú ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar an spiorad a thug sibh le chéile mar chomharsa, idir óg agus aosta, chun cairdeas a spreagadh agus chun pobal níos láidre a chruthú. Is é mo ghuí é go leanfaidh an spiorad seo ar aghaidh ar feadh na mblianta fada agus go mbeidh rannpháirtíocht pobal ghníomhach le braith sa bhaile seo sa todhchaí.
[We do not know, of course, what that future will hold. But today Letterkenny can celebrate the enthusiasm which united you all as neighbours, reaching across generations, and creating new and positive links and friendships that I hope will continue to strengthen your community and encourage an ongoing spirit of active participation. ]
As a town you have worked long and hard to achieve the TidyTown accolade. You have been a part of this competition since it first began in 1958, displaying commitment, dedication and admirable persistence across the years and decades as you worked to ensure that Letterkenny would someday be named Ireland’s Tidiest Town.
I am delighted to be able to congratulate you in person, here today, not only on your great win, but also on the great spirit of perseverance which lies at the heart of that win.
Indeed, it is greatly uplifting to see so many of you gathered here today, sharing pride in an achievement that belongs to the entire community of Letterkenny.
I congratulate you on that magnificent achievement; an achievement which I hope will encourage you to continue to work together to ensure that Letterkenny is a town of which all its residents can be truly proud.