 In what has been one of the dullest Augusts on record, the sun shone down on Co. Monaghan last week, bathing this year’s Pride of Place entries in glorious sunshine and showing the venues off to full advantage as the judges made their way around the county to assess Co Monaghan’s 2011 entrants.
Pride of Place is an all-island competition organised annually by Co-Operation Ireland. It is open to local authorities, north and south, who put forward projects and communities which they feel exemplify the spirit of the competition. Pride of Place seeks to recognise the achievements of local groups in making their communities a better place to live.
This year, Monaghan County Council put forward three nominees:
- Glaslough in the villages category
- Clones in the towns category, and
- Patrick Kavanagh Country, in the ‘Community Tourism Initiative’ category
This year’s judges were the retired Co Manager of Wicklow Co Co, Blaize Treacy (who also spent three years as Town Clerk in Carrickmacross many years ago), and the retired CEO of Derry City Council, Cathal Logue, who was at the helm in Derry throughout the Troubles. The judges were accompanied by Co-Operation Ireland co-ordinator, Maurice Inglis, and escorted around the county by Monaghan County Council’s Carol Lambe.
 The judges spent up to three hours in each location, where they met with local people and were shown around a range of community projects. Each visit started with a powerpoint presentation, which gave an overview of the work in the community, identified the local challenges and highlighted the successes of the community.
First stop for the judges was idyllic Inniskeen, with its round tower, stone buildings and lush hedgerows. The judges were treated to lunch and homemade brown bread in the Poet’s Rest coffee shop before visiting the Patrick Kavanagh Centre, which is housed in the former Parish Church once frequented by the renowned poet. Here, the judges were met by members of Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group, who explained that they had started up in the mid-1980’s as a response to a lack of employment in the area, which was leading to a drainage of young people from the community.
The group settled on Kavanagh as being a unique asset to the area, but quickly recognised that the area lacked the necessary infrastructure to attract tourists. The group opened the Kavanagh Centre in 1996, along with the Poet’s Rest coffee shop. Other community projects with a tourism slant followed, such as the 18-hole scenic pitch’n’putt in the village centre, the creation of a beautiful walk along the river Fane, which was altered to provide a paddling pool for youngsters, and the restoration of the old Church of Ireland church to provide a wonderful performance space for events such as the internationally renowned annual Kavanagh Weekend, which is organised entirely by local volunteers.
The group have also devised a tour of many of the sites immortalised in Kavanagh’s writing, including ‘Cassidy’s Hanging Hill’, ‘Billy Brennan’s Barn’, and the ‘black hills’ of Shancoduff, all of which have remained largely unchanged from Kavanagh’s time. Curator of the Kavanagh Centre, Rosaleen Kearney, explained that the local people have a strong regard for their heritage and that new developments are done in keeping with the 1920’s rural feel of the village. The judges were high in their praise for the commitment of local people to conserving their unique heritage, particularly for the owner of Billy Brennan’s Barn, who recently restored the building with help from the Heritage Council.
Larry McDermott, chairman of Inniskeen Enterprise Development group, explained to the judges that the group had known from the start that the visitor centre would be a ‘loss leader’ for the community, but had considered it to be an essential part of a visitor experience, and therefore the community were happy to take it on, in the hope that attracting more people to Kavanagh Country would enable local people to develop businesses to service these visitors. The group were very happy to be able to report that the area now has several projects which service the visitors to the area, including self catering accommodation in a beautifully restored stone farmhouse, and a bus tour operator who provides a valuable link between Inniskeen and the nearby towns of Dundalk and Carrickmacross.
 The judges also visited Irish Country Quads, which provides a range of adventure activities. A day-long programme incorporating a half-day at the Kavanagh Centre and a half day on the quads is proving a hit with school groups in particular.
The judges were very impressed with their visit, and in particular with the hordes of people who were out around the village on the day. The pitch’n’putt was packed, several people were using the river walk, and there were several others calling to the Kavanagh Centre. The judges commended the group for their strategic approach to the creation of a tourism product, commenting that it was very different from other projects they had visited. To round off the visit, the judges were treated to a bus tour of Kavanagh Country, so that they might experience for themselves the timeless landscape and the magic of Kavanagh’s little hills.
The judges departed Inniskeen for Glaslough, where they spent the night in the Gate Lodge of Castle Leslie. There they met Sir Jack, who brought them on a tour of the castle, and treated them to tales of life in Glaslough and a few bars on the piano. Their tour of Glaslough officially commenced the following morning, when they were met at the Oaklands Recreation Centre in the village by over one hundred people, all keen to show the judges why Glaslough is the best place to live in the world.
Local children opened proceedings with a rendition of ‘Beautiful Glaslough’, after which the judges toured around the hall to visit stands which were erected by the various clubs and associations which are active in the village. Louise Duffy, Chair of Glaslough Development Association, then gave a presentation which went through the achievements of the community, and then the judges were packed into a Castle Leslie minibus to go visit some of the projects around the area.
 The close relationship between the village and the Castle was very much in evidence during the judges’ visit, which took in the community park and the integrated wetlands project, both of which are built on lands provided by the Leslies. The judges were high in their praise for the thought that has gone in to designing new developments in the village to fit in with the estate heritage. ‘Glaslough has over 40% of Monaghan’s listed buildings’, explained Louise, adding that the people of the area have always taken great pride in its appearance. “We are immensely proud of our National Tidy Towns title, and hope that we can be successful again in the not-too-distant future,” stated Louise. The judges were accompanied on their tour of the village by the newly-crowned Glaslough Rose, who was selected at last month’s Fete. Proceeds from the Fete have always gone to local charity, and the generosity of spirit and support to the community’s most vulnerable shown by the various groups were applauded by the judges.
Grace McMahon of Clogher Historical Society met the judges at Donagh graveyard and explained the significance of the site to the local community. The judges were also shown Glaslough Villa FC’s new pitch, and the new biodiversity garden to the rear of the county’s only community-owned children’s playground (the rest are owned by Monaghan County Council). The Biodiversity garden boasts an algae pond and an insect hotel, amongst other attractions. The judges were shown around by some of the participants in the recent children’s eco summer camp held in Glaslough and financed by Monaghan County Council.
After a hearty lunch provided by the volunteers in the Oaklands Centre, the judges made their way to Clones in the west of the county, where they were met by Clones Community Forum and representatives from the many groups which make up the Forum. The judges were met by a ‘Welcome Pride of Place Judges’ sign at the traffic lights, which set the tone for the afternoon. Their first stop was at the beautifully-tended Cassandra Hand Centre, where they met community leaders and were treated to a powerpoint presentation by Forum Chairman, Eugene Hamill, who spoke of the community’s determination to heal the damage done by the border and by the economic decline of the town.
The judges visited Clones Failte’s new childcare facility, the new Day Activation Centre for people with special needs, and the Daycare Centre for older people, all of which demonstrated admirably the depth of care the community of Clones shows its more vulnerable members. The civic spirit of the community was demonstrated in the way the Athletics Club gave up its grounds in order to enable a new secondary school to be constructed, and in how a local landowner held his price in a time of rising land prices, while the community put together a bid which was to become the iconic €7.8 million Multi Sports Campus, work on which is due to start in 2012.
 The community spoke much of the need to build relationships between all traditions in the town, and of their pride that the minority protestant community is very much part of the town life. The community’s work to integrate people from new communities and ex political prisoners was also highlighted.
As the judges were walking around, the community spirit of Clones was very much in evidence in the Diamond, where the exterior of a derelict building was being plastered by volunteers, in preparation for next month’s National Famine Commemoration ceremony. The judges also visited a community garden constructed by unemployed people, and heard from representatives of Clones Erne East Shadow Youth Partnership whose work on encouraging young people to use their vote during the last election and on drink driving was commended by the judges.
The judges’ visit concluded with tea and scones in the Canal Stores, the project which kick started Clones’ revival in the mid 1980’s. Here the judges were told how the local credit union voted to hand over 1% of their annual dividend to Clones Development Society in order to raise the cash to buy and restore the then-derelict building, and how the town is now readying itself for the re-opening of the Ulster Canal from Belturbet to Clones, thanks in no small measure to the determination and persistence of the local community over the past twenty years in championing this project and what it could do for the region at every opportunity.
Speaking of their visit to Co. Monaghan, judges Blaize Treacy and Cathal Logue were loud in their praise of the three communities they visited over the two days. They were especially impressed by the professionalism of the groups in their approach to the Pride of Place competition, commenting that having so much information available to them made the job as judges much easier. They thanked the groups for giving of their time to meet the judges and wished them the best in the competition.
The judges will now meet up with the other judges who have been visiting other regions of the country, and will compare notes on each entrant. The final result will be announced at a Gala Awards Night in Gorey in November.
Monaghan County Council would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped prepare for this year’s Pride of Place, and wishes our three entrants the very best of luck in the competition.
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Monday, 22 August 2011 16:38