Pride shines through at Cavan Estate Awards

The best local authority estate in Cavan town was awarded to St. Martin's Estate at the Cavan Town Council Estate Awards night in the Town Hall on Monday. More than 200 people attended the awards, including all elected members of Cavan Town Council. First prize for the best private estate went to Creighan Drive with Highfield Road coming second. The best of the smaller local authority estates were Park View (in the 20 to 29 house category) and joint winners the Drumlins and Loughview in the small estates category of less than 20 houses. Other award winners were as follows: best local authority estate special feature, The Steeples for its 'Top Goal' community mural; best private estate special feature, Willow Ridge for its estate entrance; best Cavan town youth project, joint winners, O' Raghallaigh Park Rascals Youth Group and Killymooney Youth Group; best recycling award, Big Steps Youth Group, Killymooney; best individual gardens, No. 56 Ardkeen, Mary Tully and No. 5 Laragh Crescent, Michelle McCaffrey. There was a great sense of community and pride as the winning groups and individuals were presented with their prizes. Street groups from a number of estates put up photo displays showing the work they had done throughout the year. Cavan Town Mayor, Andrew Boylan, presented the prizes and complimented everyone for working with their neighbours and taking such good care of their streets. He said that it was fitting that the Awards Night should take place in the Town Hall in its centenary year. Remarking that the Estate Awards competition is "one of the great community events taking place in Cavan", Cllr. Boylan added: "The value of this competition lies in the fact that it works by calling on the talents of everyone in the community. Any work done, is through the efforts of the people here tonight, adults and children. That is what makes the awards we are presenting now, so special." Cavan town clerk, Brian Hora, said that the work of the estate groups showed what can be achieved by people working together. "What makes any area a nice place to live in is the sense of community spirit and togetherness." Housing liaison officer, Marty Lynch, who's responsible for co-ordinating the awards, said that the large turnout reflected a deep sense of community among the streets of Cavan. "There was a terrific atmosphere at the Awards night," he added. All pictures from the awards will be published in next week's issue.