'You don’t get to the standard to drop the standard': Ballincollig Tidy Towns back to work on Sunday morning

Ballincollig’s Tidy Towns volunteers will be out on Sunday morning, business as usual, despite having just won Ireland’s Tidiest Town 2024 in the prestigious TidyTowns awards.

Ballincollig was named Ireland’s Tidiest Town as well as Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre, earning its 12th gold medal in the competition.

Ballincollig Tidy Towns (BTT) chairman Tom Butler said it had been a very emotional occasion for the volunteers who attended the awards in Croke Park in Dublin on Friday.

“If I could do one thing, I would dedicate this to our dear friend Tony Whelan, who passed away exactly two years ago,” Mr Butler said.

“Tony gave his heart and soul to Ballincollig Tidy Towns and we miss him, and we know he’s with us in spirit for this award.” 

Mr Butler, who has been BTT chairman for 25 years, said the group’s success was entirely down to community effort.

“It doesn’t come easy, we’ve improved year-on-year but it takes a long time to get there and a lot of dedication from our volunteers and committee, as well as all the help from our sponsors and from Cork City Council and Cork County Council before them,” he said.

“We’ll be back at it on Sunday morning in the car park of Quish’s SuperValu, this doesn’t change what we do, it just makes us very proud of what we do, but we still have to do it, because you don’t get to the standard to drop the standard.” 

More than 900 towns from across the country were competing in the 66th year of the annual competition, which has been running since 1958.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, said BTT’s volunteers had worked hard over the years to make Ballincollig one of the most attractive spots to live and work in Cork.

“The teams have done fantastic work around greening, fostering biodiversity and are trailblazers in terms of community climate action and protecting local heritage,” Mr Boyle said.

“Cork City Council works well with the BTT team and everyone in City Hall believes the award is so deserved after years of dedication by the people who live there.” 

 Offering her congratulations, Valerie O’Sullivan, chief executive of Cork City Council, said the award was a testament to Ballincollig’s community spirit and pride of place.

“Cork City Council is very proud to support and appreciates the dedication and volunteer effort that goes into winning such a prestigious award,” she said.

Ballincollig councillor and Fine Gael election candidate Garret Kelleher, who is a BTT committee member and volunteer, said the win was down to the tireless work of volunteers over decades.

“This is our 12th gold medal in a row and over that time span, we have improved our results in the national competition every year without ever taking a backwards step,” he said.

“Having finished in second place twice in 2018 and again last year, some of us were wondering if we were ever going to reach the top and win the overall national title so today, it feels like we have finally reached the promised land.” 

Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, said he often commented to family and friends in Ballincollig that the place was “pristine”, and offered his congratulations to all involved.

Colm Burke, Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central and minister of state at the Department of Health, said Tidy Towns group across Cork would be eligible to apply for funding totalling €143,000 for the county in 2025.

“All groups in Cork who entered the competition will be eligible to apply for a grant of between €1,000 and €4,000 for 2025,” he said.

Ballincollig councillor and Sinn Féin candidate Joe Lynch described BTT’s work as invaluable.

“Comhghairdeas mór leo uilig,” he said.

Manus O’Callaghan, organiser of the Cork Person of the Year awards, said he was delighted that Tom Butler and some of the BTT team had been honoured by the scheme.

“This big award is creating great excitement amongst Ballincollig’s 20,000 population and I’ve never seen such pride amongst everyone in the town,” he said.

Ballyphehane Tidy Towns was also recognised for youth engagement, being awarded the Young Person’s Award.

Ballyphehane-based councillor and Social Democrats candidate Pádraig Rice said the work of local volunteers was visible every week in the area.

“They are a phenomenal group of volunteers who are a credit to our community,” he said.

The Mayor of the County of Cork, Joe Carroll, thanked all the volunteers in towns and villages across the county for their work.

“A massive well done to the winners, you truly are champions, are an inspiration to us all and can be very proud of what you have achieved,” he said.

A total of 26 medals were awarded to towns and villages in County Cork with special awards given to Bere Island and Sherkin Island. Ballineen and Enniskeane TidyTowns Association was also named the National Winner of the Waters and Communities Award.

In the city, Douglas was also recognised with a bronze medal in their respective category.

Ballinlough volunteers also earned an endeavor award for their efforts. Endeavour awards are given to the entrant in each county that made the biggest improvement on the previous year’s score, in percentage terms.