Some of the many people who contributed to Ballynacargy's Pride of Place Award, (back from left) Anthony Maher, Niall Maher, Dermot Leavy, Seamus Carey and Sean Maher; (second row) Annette Jordan, Maggie Peyton, Bridget Maguire, Deputy Willie Penrose, Maureen Maher, Mick Cahill and Mick Green;

A 'great honour' for Ballynacargy history-makers in Pride of Place

Published: Thu 10 Nov 2011, 5:30 PM

Ballynacargy created history at the weekend when it claimed Westmeath's first top prize in the All-Ireland Pride of Place Awards.The village was awarded first in category two, for communities with populations of between 200 and 500. According to the organiser of the competition, Co-operation Ireland, Ballynacargy came up trumps as the judges who visited Westmeath during the summer 'were impressed with the level of attention paid to every facet of community living and by the significant development of the local canal'.In addition, they said that the way challenges were identified and dealt with 'illustrated the residents' overall obvious and extraordinary pride they have in their own community and its neighbourhood'.Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Cllr Johnny Penrose, who was part of the Ballynacargy contingent that travelled to the awards ceremony in Gorey on Saturday evening, said that the accolade was a "huge boost" to everyone in the community."We're absolutely thrilled. Every voluntary group in the area put in a huge effort. We knew when the judges visited that they were impressed. It's something to be proud of and gives us a wonderful incentive to keep up the good work."Annette Barr Jordan from Westmeath Community Development should also be praised for all the work she put in. It is a huge achievement for Ballynacargy to get first place in a national competition like this."Ballynacargy's Tidy Towns Committee was one of the voluntary groups that played a central role in the success, and describing the award as a "great honour" committee member Patricia Bruton noted that it was a sign the community is moving in the right direction."The county council nominated us and the nomination gelled all the different community groups together. It's a big achievement," she said.In addition to winning a Pride of Place trophy, Ballynacargy won a cheque for â¬1,000, which will be put to good use by the Tidy Towns committee.The organisations and groups that participated included St Patrick's Community Employment Project, residents groups, the Cara Phort Resource Centre, the Parish Childcare Centre, The Royal Canal Amenity Group, the Garda Síochána, the national schools, Ballynacargy GAA, Ballynacargy Community Alert, The Young at Heart Group and FÁS.