The entry for this year’s competition was submitted to the Tidy Towns Unit of the Department of Rural and Community Development at the end of April, ahead of the mid-May deadline. A competition adjudicator uses the entry that includes a customised map, to guide their visit to the town that can take place any time between June and August. In recent years, the visit has taken place in mid-July, however, in 2023 it took place on a busy Saturday following the June weekend, so the Girl Guide motto ‘be prepared’ is something that equally applies to Tidy Towns groups. Later in the autumn when the competition results are announced and the reports made publicly available, those of us involved will reflect back to where we were on the day of adjudication! This newsletter summarises the entry highlights of the eight competition categories for Skibbereen during the judging year that ran from June 2023 to May 2024. We hope you enjoy reading and do remember that all progress in the national competition is for the town of Skibbereen rather than Skibbereen Tidy Towns.
Community – Your Planning and Involvement
The entry form offers guidance for each category of the competition. An extract is included for each category so that readers of this newsletter can appreciate the context and background of what the adjudicator looks for and what we strive to achieve.
Marks are awarded for the overall quality of the Entry Form, town/village map and appropriateness of backup material submitted with your entry. Other key issues are the participation of the local community, businesses, schools and youth in general; working partnerships with local civic agencies; works carried out and appropriate projects completed; existence of an achievable updated TidyTowns Plan. Consideration will be given to social inclusion, whole of community approach, the role of volunteers and new residents in activities.
Guidance for Community category of entry form, 2024
We work with a variety groups on projects of shared interest but it is the work we do with local schools that we are especially proud of. In this category, the competition asks for ‘one specific project where particular effort was applied’ during the period. We considered it approprite that our project for 2023-24 was once again ‘Skibbereen taking on Food Waste’. This important campaign that has as much to do with community as it has with sustainability, continued into Spring 2024 and culminated in the publication of an Irish issue (as Gaeilge) of the Young Chefs Recipe Booklet. Print copies funded by Cork County Council Community Contract Fund were distributed to all families with students currently enrolled at Gaelscoil Dr Uí Shúilleabháin. We happen to have a few spare print copies so if anyone would like a copy please get in touch by email and we will do our best to accommodate. Alternatively, an online copy is available with open access through this link: https://skibbereentidytowns.com/2023/10/25/young-chef-recipes-booklet-issue-2-2023/
The national Tidy Towns movement is a mindset, an ethos, and Skibbereen has been involved since 1961. Reported in the Southern Star of 18 March that year:
Skibbereen is to enter the Tidy Towns competition for the first time. This was decided at last week’s meeting of the Urban Council at which Mr. T.D. Burke presided. A letter was read from the local Development Association suggesting that the Council should enter for the competition. Mr. Burke thought that the Council should fall in with the suggestion. Mr. P.J. Hurley proposed and Mr. Burke seconded and it was agreed to enter for the competition.
Times change, certainly, and these days there are more demands on everyone’s time than ever before; and while it is disappointing that the Tuesday evening workforce has been dwindling in recent years, it is heartening to witness support coming from individuals, organisations and businesses who may not be available on Tuesday evenings, and instead have adopted an area to maintain somewhere in the town, for example, a park, a car park, a residential area, a public area. You know who you are and we thank you for what you do for Skibbereen. If anyone has informally adopted an area that we might not know about or if you would like to get involved in this way please do get in touch using any of our communications channels.
Before closing out this category we must give a shoutout to our local County Council team as well as our amazing Community Employment team, both teams are small in size but do wonderful work across the town. Thank you all.
Streetscape & Public Places
Buildings: Conservation and presentation of heritage buildings and quality of shop-fronts will be considered, taking account of the design, sustainability, accessibility, usability and suitability of new structures or civic amenity buildings for all people, regardless of age, size, ability or disability. Please highlight the efforts made to address derelict sites and unoccupied buildings even if unsuccessful.
Public Spaces: Consideration will be given to; squares, parks, streetscape, paving, landscaping and street furniture mindful of sustainability and access for all. Condition of street lighting, building facade lighting, appropriately designed signage and way-finding relating to streets and place nameplates. Attention will be given to the presentation of parking locations, historical trails, walkways and access points to local amenities or facilities and the general use of the Irish language.
Guidance for Streetscape and Public Spaces category of entry form, 2024
A difficult category to write about at the end of a long winter, we were able to include entries related to progress in a number of public spaces, for example, Our Lady’s Grotto, where volunteer work continues led by the dynamic John Deasy, with the support of Cork County Council. The damaged hoarding at the former Convent of Mercy development site was replaced in August 2023, and the burial ground of the Sisters of Mercy in the grounds of the former chapel are maintained annually by Tidy Towns volunteers ahead of the blessing of the graves in this location. Since the public realm improvements were completed in the Square with its historical Maid of Erin in 2022, this is a popular area to sit and people-watch for many.
In Autumn 2023, work to create the Town Centre First regeneration plan kicked off for Skibbereen with the document published in April 2024. Spearheaded by Cork County Council, it is anticipated that a variety of projects may be progressed in the future, subject to suitable funding, across areas such as ways of reducing traffic build-up in the town; the provision of wider footpaths and increased public realm; as well as making the Ilen River a feature of the town. We look forward to contributing to this work in the coming years, as noted in our rolling 3-year plan.
Green Spaces and Landscaping
Communities should demonstrate the following: The planning, design and management of green spaces. The selection and appropriate siting of trees and their ongoing maintenance, including formative pruning, watering and attention to the stakes and ties. Presentation of landscaping of all entrances to your town/village/locality in consultation with your local authority, where appropriate. The use of suitable plants for hedges and shrubs for year round effect is important as is the siting of seasonal bedding schemes where you wish to highlight important areas. The use of plant containers can provide impact where it is not possible to plant directly into the ground. To reduce maintenance tasks limit the use of containers. To demonstrate the year round impact of the landscape works in your community, you are encouraged to provide dated photographs of, for example, daffodil schemes which are not evident in summertime.
Guidance for Green Spaces and Landscaping category of entry form, 2024
Development works at the (Windmill) Rock continued throughout the year, with an official opening of the highly anticipated amphitheatre on 20 May, a sunny afternoon. For details of the event please see this Southern Star article. For more historical information and background to the project driven by the Skibbereen Tidy Towns subcommittee, Friends of the Rock, please see our blog post from 2023. This 2015 blog post by Agnes Goyvaerts makes for interesting reading with an archeological slant.
Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality
Show your understanding and awareness of nature and biodiversity in your locality. This may include protected areas and/or areas important for conservation e.g. waterways, field boundaries, coastal features etc.
Show an appreciation of how your local species and habitats should be best managed and protected. Evidence of co-operation with expert groups and relevant authorities, especially in carrying out work in sensitive areas is desirable.
Guidance for Nature and Biodiversity category of entry form, 2024
Cork County Council’s draft pollinator plan for Skibbereen, along with a wealth of information from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, has proven to be of immense value to the work of the Tidy Towns group in recent years. We are also appreciative of the work of the Ilen River Nature Matters group for raising awareness of the importance of the Ilen river to the town of Skibbereen. Important projects undertaken by the group include:
- Regular Ilen River water monitoring events at various locations throughout the year supported by FreshWater Watch (‘Investigating the health of global freshwater ecosystems’).
- Participation in The Big River Watch weekends to monitor the health of the Ilen river using a Citizen Science approach.
Sustainability – Doing more with less
Describe how your activities help to make your centre more sustainable and reduce your environmental impact. For example, consider how you use your resources (e.g. methods or materials you use), in your project work under one or more of the following key themes: sustainability, water, transport, waste, energy, and climate action. Describe awareness raising activities carried out across your community and detail any involvement with other Community Groups in this category.
Guidance for Sustainability category of entry form, 2024
In addition to the work undertaken with the students of Gaelscoil Dr Uí Shúilleabháin as part of Skibbereen taking on Food Waste, we were delighted to support staff and students of Abbeystrewry National School in working towards their Green Flag (litter and waste) and to be invited to view their ‘junk art’ exhibition in the autumn semester. In the spring semester, the school very cleverly incorporated an environmental aspect in the students artwork called ‘Keep Clean Go Green’. To read more about these projects please click here.
West Cork Greenways is a multi-year project from Cork County Council supported by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. The project kicked off with a public consultation process that we were delighted to participate in since Skibbereen is planned to be the trailhead for three routes, to Baltimore, Drimoleague and Schull. We look forward to participating further in the years ahead. For more information please click here.
Tidiness and Litter Control
Tidiness: General lack of clutter, blocked footpaths, redundant poles, unsightly overhead electric cables, absence of graffiti and fly-posting and evidence of control of weed growth at kerbs. Absence of unsightly and or inappropriate advertising, such as that on gables of buildings and mass produced advertising banners in shop fronts. Please note that although general tidiness is evaluated and marked in this category, tidiness is also considered under other categories including the Streetscape & Public Places, Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes.
Litter: The adjudicator will assess the absence of litter and dumping, evidence of litter control strategy, including regular litter patrols, segregation of collected litter during clean-ups and promotion of anti-litter awareness throughout community.
Guidance for Tidiness and Litter Control category of entry form, 2024
If you have read this far you will appreciate that the national Tidy Towns competition is not all about litter and colourful flower displays! Litter, however, does need to be managed and we are indebted to the daily work undertaken by Martin and Teddy from Cork County Council as well as a number of individuals who quietly get on with the task of picking litter from our roadsides, beaches and public spaces. Not forgetting the Transition Year students from Skibbereen Community School who patrol a route from school down Gortnaclohy Road and back up High Street during one of their weekly classes, under the watchful eye of their teacher, Ms Órla O’Sullivan.
Cork County Council organises an annual Anti-Litter Challenge in May and June each year that many towns and villages take part it. Oftentimes, it is down to the luck of the draw as to what day or time the judges visit, nonetheless the challenge is intended to encourage community solutions to litter pollution that we incorporate into our year round efforts to address the litter problem in Skibbereen. In 2023, at the third and final judging period, Skibbereen overtook Passage West to win Category B1. Pure luck but we’ll take the win! In 2024, we topped Category A in the first judging period, but slid to the bottom in the second. As mentioned, it’s the luck of the draw, and we will find out how we did in the third judging period and overall in the Challenge at an event in County Hall in the autumn.
Residential Streets & Housing Areas
Residential streets that include Town Houses are integral parts of towns and villages and should be treated in a similar fashion to public and private housing developments. Consideration is given to proper presentation and maintenance of all properties with due cognisance given to maintenance of frontages, boundary and gable end walls. Gardens, where applicable, should be presented to a good standard. In housing developments green areas should be cut regularly. Children’s play areas to be considered with equipment maintained to best standards. Where possible individual estates should have suitable name signs – stones, plaques, sign posts, etc. preferably bilingual. Unfinished estates will not reflect badly on the efforts of any community but examples of how the community is addressing this issue should be highlighted.
Guidance for Residential Streets and Housing Areas category of entry form, 2024
A challenging category with no new projects submitted in our competition entry for 2024. The All Ireland Pollinator Plan has produced helpful guidance for residential estates that we hope might inspire some local estates and communities.
Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes
Appropriate presentation of approach roads, including the roadside verges and their boundary treatment. The appearance of town and village streets, connecting roads, laneways, bridges and cycle lanes. Provision for inclusive access and pedestrian connections.
Guidance for Approach Roads, Streets and Lanes category of entry form, 2024
Following the online publication of our blog post: ‘Love our laneways – a brief history’, a collaboration with Skibbereen Arts Festival, Skibbereen and District Historical Society, Skibbereen Heritage Centre and Skibbereen Tidy Towns resulted in the painting of a mural on Coppinger’s Lane, Townshend Street, depicting scenes from the Great Famine during Arts Festival Week 2023. To see the mural’s development by artist Iris de Vries, please pop over to her Instagram page and do watch out for more laneway artistic plans for Arts Festival Week 2024.
So, that’s a wrap for this year’s midsummer newsletter. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters who have helped us continue our work again this year. Whether you donated time, skills or money, whether individual, charitable, community, corporate or public service, however you helped, we very much appreciate it all.
Until next time, best wishes from the committee of Skibbereen Tidy Towns.
Featured image courtesy of Pixabay
Skibbereen Tidy Towns 