Ballinahown puts its best foot forward during visit of European competition judges

By David Flynn

The ongoing work and talent of the people of Ballinahown village was on display to a group of international judges last Saturday.

The judges of the Entente Florale competition spent several hours in the picturesque village where they examined many aspects including the quality of life as shown through its many features and characteristics.

Entente Florale is a Europe-wide competition of villages, towns, and cities. In existence since 1975, it seeks to promote a greener and more pleasant environment with an emphasis on sustainable environmental measures.

During the adjudication, members of the local committee spoke to the Westmeath Independent about the pride they feel in their village, and about the work that has been put in, and is continuing to be done, to benefit the area and the surrounding hinterland.

It’s obvious from talking to committee members that this work is constant, and will continue indefinitely.

Lorraine Farrell, committee member, said there was significant effort from the community to get the village to the standard shown on the day of the adjudication.

“There was a huge amount of operational work involved to get the hall set up and it took great volunteerism,” said Lorraine.

She said that, besides the core Ballinahown development committee, there is a WhatsApp group for local volunteers, who are happy to help out.

“They have all really rolled in and the cornerstone of it all is the CE (community employment) scheme and the five CE workers were all local and in general they can’t do enough, and we appreciate them so much and the village wouldn’t be the same without them,” said Lorraine.

Lorraine said listening to the presentation shared earlier with the judges made her proud to be a native of Ballinahown, because it highlighted all the work that is going on there.

“We have a biodiversity pond, which is a national training site for An Taisce and we have astro turf facilities, which was 75% Leader funded, and it means our children train in Ballinahown and don’t have to go to Athlone or Ferbane,” she said.

“There is a lot of strategic vision from the committee and from other committees in Ballinahown,” she said, singling out the chairperson of Ballinahown Community Development, Helen Conneely, who she said has been leading the Ballinahown committee for 30 years.

Lorraine said that Helen communicates her vision to everyone and is an active listener of ideas.

“I’m an organiser, and I wanted to organise Christmas markets, and Helen fully supported that and gave me the autonomy to go and do it and she has managed the CE scheme for years,” said Lorraine.

The native Ballinahown woman said she has seen huge changes evolving in the village all of her life. “When I was in primary school, there was a talk of a playground and it happened soon after and it’s still developing,” said Lorraine. “We have a saying on the committee that there is no end point in this journey, everything is evolving and it’s continuous.”

She said in the village they take biodiversity very seriously and when she was a child there was a lot of annual planting, which has now moved to perennial, and is bee friendly!

“The bees love colour, like red and purple, and that is why there is so much colour around (the village) like lavender,” said Lorraine.

She said that they have got a lot of support from Westmeath County Council who she said have been100% helpful.

“I’m quietly confident that things will go well today, because a huge amount of work, discussion and meticulous planning has been done for today to happen,” said Lorraine.

“There is so much beauty, and a lot that you may not see here, but everything that underpins us is sustainability and biodiversity, and we have one of the first underground recycling centres in Ireland. We now have solar powered pedestrian lighting which is so important for the village.”

She commented on there being a community polytunnel in Ballinahown, where the community and the school have beds.

The three judges present at Ballinahown last Saturday they visited several places. They saw projects such as the community carpark – market, fountain, sculpture and pergola; polytunnel and environs; 1916 Garden; Recycling Area; School grounds and all-weather pitch; Sports Park, sculpture, wooded walk; Playground; Apiary, biodiversity pond; Community Amphitheatre; and the local church.

Cathriona McGowan, who originally comes from Leixlip, is a member of the Ballinahown Community Development Committee and has been living for the past six years on the Clonmacnoise Road. Her little boy Oscar spoke to the judges about the recycling of batteries on Saturday.

“I organised the caterers today and worked with them and I also do the administration of the Facebook page, ‘Ballinahown Development Committee,” said Cathriona. “The engagement on Facebook was off the charts in the past few weeks, with people wishing us luck.”

Cathriona has been really impressed with Ballinahown since she and her family arrived there six years ago.

“There’s a great sense of community here and everybody has brought their set of skills here today, and there is so many sets of skills,” she said. “There has always been someone to call upon if you are stuck. Everyone is so invested in the community and there’s a fabulous school here.”

Cathriona said there are many nice events taking place in Ballinahown, and said that the area is the best of both worlds, being rural and yet near the urban area. “It’s only nine minutes away from Athlone town,” she said.