Another gold for Ballinahown at Regional Tidy Towns Awards

Ballinahown were presented with a county first and a national gold medal at the 2023 SuperValu Tidy Towns awards for the Midlands & East region.

Representatives from Ballinahown Community Development were presented the awards by Minister of State Sean Fleming on Friday, September 13, at a prize-giving ceremony in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel in Laois.

This was Ballinahown's first ever gold medal in the Tidy Towns competition.

The group have had a busy few weeks having recently returned from Hungary taking home a gold medal from the prestigious Entente Florale Europe competition.

Minister Fleming congratulated the group on their significant achievement in Hungary.

Other Westmeath winners included Milltownpass Tidy Towns, who were formally acknowledged as the overall winners of the National Waters and Communities Award for 2023.

The group was presented with their award by Minister Fleming and Cathal Flood of LAWPRO (Local Area Waters Program) and recognised for their significant efforts to improve their local river and habitat quality.

Milltownpass also won the Midlands and East Regional Waters and Community Award and the county Endeavour Award for 2023. They recently secured funding from the 2024 Climate Action Fund, which will allow them to continue their momentum on the river project.

In addition, members of Tyrrellspass Tidy Towns were presented with their awards for achieving the county second and a bronze medal. They also received a highly commended in the Local Authority Pollinator Award category.

County third and national gold medal winners Athlone Tidy Towns, and national bronze medal winners Mullingar Towns also received their 2023 awards.