September 5 date for Pride of Place at Milltownpass and Rochfortbridge

Westmeath has two entries in this year’s Pride of Place competition, and on Friday September 5, the two will come under the scrutiny of the adjudicators, Westmeath County Council has announced.

The two entries are the Westmeath Community Development ‘Live Longer and Prosper’ programme, and, in the category for towns with a population of fewer than 300, Milltownpass.

The adjudication will start in Milltownpass at 10am on September 5. Proceedings begin at the community centre, following which the adjudicators will undertake a tour of Milltownpass village.

At 2pm in St Joseph’s Hall, Rochfortbridge, Westmeath Community Development will give a presentation on its activities, following which there will be a display exhibition and activities.

The announcement on this year’s overall winners will be made on November 7 in Limerick.

The nominations for the competition were made by Westmeath County Council, who explained this week that Pride of Place covers the whole island.

“The focus of Pride of Place is on the people of an area, a community in an area and how this community works together for the benefit of all the citizens that live there young and old alike, from all sectors of that community.”

The council went on to say that Pride of Place is about community spirit, individual and community awareness, communities coming together to provide services and address issues through a collective approach.

“The National All Ireland Pride of Place Award is a highly acclaimed award and very difficult to earn,” the council concluded.