Fáilte chuig Comórtas Na mBailte Slachtmhara Super Valu don bhliain 2022. Táimid buíoch daoibh as ucht na hiontrála a chur chugainn, agus guimíd gach rath ar bhúr gcuid oibre amach anseo. Adh Mór. Thank you very much
for your application to this year’s competition. Although you have a relatively small number (3) on your Committee,
you enjoy the support of a healthy number of 12 additional volunteers. There appears to be good levels of
communication and engagement through the use of public meetings, WhatsApp, Facebook, texts, emails, and word
of mouth etc. to help share information as well as advertise the regular “Tidy-Days”. You engage closely with your
local schools, Claregalway N.S., Claregalway Educate Together, Carnmore N.S., as well as Coláiste Bhaile Chláir.
It very much appears that there is very strong support for your TidyTowns endeavours, with many local businesses,
clubs, being involved in some way or another, along with government agencies such as Údarás na Gaeltachta,
Galway County Council and others, and it is really heartening to hear that you are in communication with other
TidyTowns groups as well, a great way to share and learn new tips and tricks. It is great to hear that you believe that
your participation in the competition has helped to maintain and improve both the natural and built environment of
your lovely town for both visitors and residents alike.
44
Your town has many interesting features and historic attractions such as the Nine Arches Bridge, Claregalway
Castle, the Franciscan Abbey/Friary, not to mention the forge and museum, and you are doing a huge amount of
work to maintain and restore these, which is no easy task, and the work that has been done on the restoration of the
tower house of the castle is very impressive. The thatched cottage in the town is well maintained as are the grounds
surrounding the Abbey. The day that I visited Claregalwy there was a lot of through traffic which made is slightly
more difficult to make my way around the town, and I note that you mention that there are discussions with Galway
County Council in relation to traffic calming measures, which will surely make it more accessible and enjoyable to
visit and spend time in your town.
Some public buildings which looked fresh and well maintained include the Community Centre, and Claregalway
National School
47
There is some lovely landscaping to be found throughout Claregalway, with many businesses making a great effort
in this area, including the attractive planting at the steps up to the Claregalway Hotel, and the Arches Shopping
Centre, as well as along the bridge, and outside the Forge and Claregalway museum and Hughes SuperValu.
Claregalway National School looked well with its fresh paint and trees. There are some lovely old stone walls to be
found throughout the town and these appear to be in good condition and well maintained. You are also being very
mindful with your efforts and making sure to concentrate for greatest impact, and good to hear that you are focusing
on such things as increasing the amount of sustainable planting, the use of wildflowers and also planning for the
winter months as well. Well done on the information sign telling the story of the spires and the additional flower beds
that you have planted.
34
60
18
28
39
Tidy Towns Competition 2022
Adjudication Report
Centre:
County:
Category:
Ref:
Mark:
Date(s):
309
Maximum
Mark
Community – Your Planning and Involvement
Streetscape & Public Places
Green Spaces and Landscaping
Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality
Sustainability – Doing more with less
Tidiness and Litter Control
Residential Streets & Housing Areas
Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes
80
80
80
55
55
90
55
55
38
43
46
33
17
60
27
38
302
Mark
Awarded 2021
TOTAL MARK 550 309
Community – Your Planning and Involvement / An Pobal – Pleanáil agus Rannpháirtíocht:
Streetscape & Public Places / Sráid-Dreach & Áiteanna Poiblí:
Green Spaces and Landscaping / Spásanna Glasa agus Tírdhreachú:
Mark
Awarded 2022
06/07/2022
found throughout the town and these appear to be in good condition and well maintained. You are also being very
mindful with your efforts and making sure to concentrate for greatest impact, and good to hear that you are focusing
on such things as increasing the amount of sustainable planting, the use of wildflowers and also planning for the
winter months as well. Well done on the information sign telling the story of the spires and the additional flower beds
that you have planted.
Good work on having a biodiversity plan with the help of Galway County Council.
We note that Churchview estate has a designated pollinator area, which is a great initiative, and it would be great to
see other estates following suite. It was also interesting to hear that some of your members attended a “Biodiversity
Training Programme for Communities” event funded by Galway Rural Development, as well as a “Water Biodiversity
Course” delivered by LAWPRO, and it is good to see that you have produced an action plan for the Clare River in
conjunction with other environmental groups.
You are making sure to incorporate pollinator friendly flowers throughout the town, as well as leaving some grass
verges to be un mown as well as using wildflowers. Other interesting projects include the bat survey as well as the
installation of bat and bird boxes, surveys, and a bat walk planned which will be interesting to hear about in the
future.
The large amount of traffic that appears to pass through Claregalway must make the job of trying to keep the town
clean and litter free quite difficult at times, but you are doing a good job, there was some litter to be seen and I
spotted a bin that was slightly overflowing, but considering the size of your town, and the amount of traffic that is
going through it you are doing a good job. You are achieving this through some concerted efforts such as your
“Clean Up Days” which you hold every six to eight weeks for short bursts of time at any trouble or black spots, this
method is a good way of getting loads of volunteers for some fast and furious cleaning. In addition you have signs
up to entreat people to keep your town clean including the canine residents. Well done on your weeding and
shrubbery control as well as the work that you do with the additional help of the Claregalway Annaghdown CE
Scheme to keep areas such as Abbey cemetary and graveyard as well as approach roads clean and well
presented.
Some good effort in this category, with some of the initiatives being taken including the following;
-Encouraging more sustainable methods of transport such as walking and cycling, including the “Step, Snap, Send”
photography competition, and the provision of suggested
routes, including points of interest and information on nature and biodiversity.
- the ‘cyclability’ audit of the town’s roads to support the upcoming Traffic Calming measures being proposed, and
these measures when implemented will surely improved the
quality of life and accessibility of the town for residents. - A ‘walkability’ audit, with work being done by local students and sent to Galway County Council.
-Promotion of sustainable non chemical cleaning of signs around the town.
-The use of polytunnels to grow vegetables at Claregalway Day Care Centre and Coláiste Bhaile an Chláir, as well
as organic vegetables being provided for residents by organic vegetable grower Oisin Kenny.
-Water harvesting to prevent water wastage (planters on the Nine Arches). - Installation of bicycle racks outside your local SuperValu, as well as some in schools.
-Charity shops which reduce waste to landfill and proceeds going to your local Day Centre as well as NCBI
proceeds going towards those with visual impairments.
There has been a concerted effort to work closely with resident’s groups and to get them more actively involved in
the management of their estates and local environment, and this is clearly paying off. Estates visited included
Lakeview which has some lovely landscaping as you enter, Slí an Bhradáin, as well as Cuirt na hAbhann, and an
Mhainistir, and well done on all the work done here. You are also encouraging estates to reduce the use of
pesticides as well as introducing pollinator friendly measures and keeping some areas with long grass and ‘wild
areas’ and hopefully the implementation of this will spread to more estates and residential areas in time.
Thank you for the information supplied here. You have a committee member assigned to each approach road and
area. Very good, an interesting approach. Again, we’d like some more information on projects carried out. At the
same time, we do acknowledge that ongoing maintenance is a significant part of any good Tidy Towns group’s
work. There was a well-ordered approach from the Galway side. Very little litter was seen. Two nice planted areas
were noted. Your stone walls, some quite new, look very well. An old bus lane sign is dirty and could be removed at
this stage or reused elsewhere. There is very nice welcome signage. The Nine-arched bridge looked even better
than ever. The shrub-bed areas here continue to be well kept. Well done
Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality / An Dúlra agus an Bhithéagsúlacht i do cheantar:
Sustainability – Doing more with less / Inmharthanacht – Mórán ar an mbeagán:
Tidiness and Litter Control / Slachtmhaireacht agus Rialú Bruscair:
Residential Streets & Housing Areas / Sráideanna Cónaithe & Ceantair Tithíochta:
Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes / Bóithre Isteach, Sráideanna & Lánaí:
Concluding Remarks:
It was a pleasure to visit your lovely town and its many attractions, and we wish you the best of luck in this year’s
