Tidy Towns come together in new forum
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Carol Smyth of Shercock Tidy Towns provides some background detail on how the Cavan County Tidy Towns Forum came to be.Image 2 of 7
Carol Smyth of Shercock Tidy Towns, Susan Monaghan and Tara Smith of Cavan County Council.Image 3 of 7
Anne Shanley and Therese Teevan of Killeshandra Tidy Towns and Kathleen Gilheany of Swanlinbar Tidy TownsImage 4 of 7
Rafaela Radulescu of Cavan Volunteer Centre with attendees on the day.Image 5 of 7
Carol Smyth with Aisling Carolan and Daniel Downey of Cavan Public Participation Network.Image 6 of 7
Philip Kilkenny and Paddy Reilly of Lavey Tidy Towns GroupImage 7 of 7
Maria Morgan and Darren Duffy of Cavan County Council.A new forum for Tidy Towns groups across Cavan to pool their considerable knowledge has been formed.
The first meeting of the Cavan County Tidy Towns Forum was held in the Hotel Kilmore, Cavan on Friday, April 11.
The event was well attended with Tidy Towns Groups from across the county represented.
Talks were given by council staff from the Waste Management, Community Development section and the Climate Action Office. Additionally, Daniel Downey from Cavan PPN and Rafaela Radulescu from Cavan Volunteer Centre also provided an overview of how they can help Tidy Towns with their work.
“The idea of forming a county wide Tidy Towns Forum was first mooted following the Cathlaorieach’s Awards in 2024, when the efforts of these groups were formally acknowledged by the Council and Executive,” recalls Carol Smyth, who is a member of Shercock Tidy Towns and the driving force behind organising the Forum.
“From there the appetite for a Forum grew and was envisioned to be a collective of Tidy Town Groups from across the county of Cavan, working cohesively together for the betterment of our county.”
Funding was obtained by Shercock Tidy Towns from the Community Foundation Ireland to explore the possibility of developing a county wide Tidy Towns Forum.
From the outset, the desired outcomes of the Forum were considered as:
Carol said the aim f the first meeting was for Tidy Towns Groups of the county to “come together to share their stories, celebrate their work, discover new learnings and leave feeling part of something collaborative”.
They will reflect on this one day event in shaping the direction of the newly established Cavan County Tidy Towns Forum and the best ways to keep members informed and up to date. Carol also has an eye beyond Breffni’s borders.
“It was envisioned also, to possibly use it as a type of blueprint that could be replicated in other counties and rolled out by their respective County Councils. This would entail going to a select number of County Councils and pitching the initiative,” explained Carol of the project’s phase two.
If you are part of a Tidy Towns Groups in Cavan and would like to be part of the Forum, then please contact Carol Smyth on 0879644152 or on email: info@shercocktidytowns.ie