Cleaning up in Roscommon!

For over 20 years now, Roscommon Tidy Towns has been caring for the image of Roscommon town, helping in the control of litter, landscaping, recycling and promoting natural amenities in the town.    Every Tuesday at 7 pm during the summer months, members of the Association meet at Gleeson’s car park for the weekly litter-pick. The current officers of the Association are: Chairperson: Kathleen Shanagher, Secretary:   Brendan Donohue, Treasurer: John Larkin, and the PRO is George Jameson.   Roscommon Tidy Towns has had several notable achievements over the years. One of the biggest successes of the Association was helping to establish the beautiful Loughnaneane Park, which is now a huge family attraction in the town.   In 2003, the Birdwalk in the Park, achieved the Wildlife Award in the National Tidy Towns Competition. This was a remarkable achievement for the town.   The Association has also been commended in the waste minimisation category for its initiative in working with students in the local schools.   On average, the town has gained five marks each year since 2000 in the Tidy Towns competition. This has been achieved with the help of the outdoor staff of Roscommon County Council, who have always been very co-operative in relation to projects undertaken by the Association.   The work of FÁS trainees has also proved invaluable, particularly in the early years of the Association. The students in the READ Centre, Lisnamult, have also contributed their time and talents to the Tidy Towns Association, with the addition of benches in the green area of Abbeytown, and an attractive sign at the entrance to Lisnamult.   The trainees in Clorina House Training Centre also give input to the Association with the provision of baskets and windows boxes, throughout the summer months, and also with the care and maintenance of wooden benches. Some of the trainees are also volunteers in the Association. Last but not least, the residents and business people of the town also play their part, by keeping their residences and shop fronts up to an acceptable standard.   Roscommon town is expanding rapidly, particularly on the construction front, and the Association feels that care should be taken, in the years ahead, to preserve, in as far as possible, local sites and buildings of historical interest, and would like to see newly constructed buildings in keeping with their surrounding. The Association would also like to see traditional shop fronts and some signs in the Irish language, being made a requirement of planning conditions, in as far as is practically possible.   The Association is also concerned with the preservation of green areas and local wetlands, and the members feel strongly that the local authority should take cognisance of these areas, and wetlands; when planning applications are being sought.   Due to the increasing population of the town, litter control should be a concern of all citizens of the town, not just the membership of the Roscommon Tidy Towns Association. The citizens of Roscommon town have also given generous financial support to the Association over the years, in their various fundraising ventures.   Finally, a big word of thanks, to Eamon and Mary Gleeson of Gleeson’s townhouse who provides the use of a meeting room, and also catered for the Association’s storage needs over the years.