Letterkenny Town Mayor Paschal Blake and Anne Mc Gowan, Chairperson of Letterkenny Tidy Towns, at the Helix (Photo from Twitter @LKTidy)
Letterkenny has won Regional, County and Tourism Awards today in the Tidy Towns Awards. The town earned 313 marks and recieved a gold medal.
Letterkenny was named the tidiest town in the North West and in Donegal. It also won a Tourism Town Award.
The regional award prize was €2000. The county and tourism prizes were both €1000.
Moynalty in Co. Meath was named Ireland’s Tidiest Town. Letterkenny was just 3 points short of the overall winning town’s 316 score.
Glenties also won a gold medal with 306 marks. Raphoe and Buncrana won silver medals, while Malin and Carrigart both won bronze medals. Carraig Airt won the Gaeltacht Award.
James O’Neill from Buncrana was one of the Tidy Town Heroes of the year.
In Letterkenny’s adjudication report, the judge found that litter control and street clean-ups in the town were good. However, the Bring Centre was disappointing as the barrier was locked and bottles were dumped outside the units.
They admired the design of the Century Cinemas building, the glass front of Gallagher’s Hotel, and the rugged look of Bank of Ireland.
The design of Bernard McGlinchey Town Park and Ballymacool Town Park impressed the judge.
The presentation of the Tourist Information Office and the surrounding landscaping was highly praised. The report said it was “a real credit to Letterkenny and Failte Ireland.”
The pedestrian archways and wide footpaths along Letterkenny’s Main Street were commended for showing the importance of pedestrians in the town.
The judge remarked that the view of the Oatfield factory from De Valera road was “uninspiring”.
The Oldtown area needed much more attention under the Tidy Towns scheme, according to the report.
On the second visit, the adjudicator said “Letterkenny looked very well on the day-it’s a working town of great character which continues to do well in the competition.”
by Rachel McLaughlin