Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan
Killarney has retained its gold medal in this year’s Tidy Towns competition and increased its overall mark by six points to 334. Competing in Category F, the town gained extra points in five of the eight categories after the adjudication visits took place on Tuesday, July 10 and Thursday, August 2 – at the height of the tourist season. Here, for those interested in the finer details, where marks were gained and what areas stayed the same, we reproduce the adjudication report in full, the various comments under the each of the category headings and the judges’ concluding remarks. Please note that, for authenticity purposes, the report is presented just as it was prepared by the adjudicators and a number of spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors have not been edited.
Community: Your Planning and Involvement
Many thanks for your entry in this year’s Tidy Towns Competition. Thank you for participating In Ireland’s biggest community project on this, its 60th year of making Ireland a better place. The very first bit of praise must go to the wonderful submission that is your entry for 2018. Beautifully done, amply illustrated and absolutely packed full of detail. The format made it very easy to read and assess. Thank you for the laminated map and the paper copy – very thoughtful.
In this category, you give a really good account of your organisation, origins, your project partners and supporters. You have been involved in Tidy Towns for around 30 years now and in that time have achieved so much. You give great praise to the many parts of the Killarney community that supports your efforts, including the schools and businesses. In turn, you also make a massive contribution to your community and its environment. In fact, you have spread your influence further as is evinced by the beautiful sculpture that greets the visitor to Beaufort. A nice touch. Your entry shows that the Meitheal is alive and well in our modern town and landscape.
Streetscape & Public Places
The accessibility audit is a necessary step, ongoing so good luck with it. It is hoped that the public conveniences will be an exemplar of universal access. Derelict buildings are being cared-for once more. Your laneways – a very important part of your streetscape – are the focus of important ongoing work. The adjudicator was very taken with some of the efforts here. Future projects such as the sculpture trail will add yet more interest to your streetscape.
The Fire Station was one of the first official buildings seen and flowers here looked well. The Sport & Leisure centre was spotless. The use of large planters in front of a disused site near the railway bridge was noted. The green netting here has collapsed and is torn. This looks poor and could possibly be better screened with trees. The nearby outlet centre and car-park were spotless.
On the older end of the scale, the Friary is a beautiful and imposing building. The library steps and railings were gleaming but the walls could do with a little more painting. The commercial area near MDOS roundabout was admired for its good appearance. Killarney Park Hotel has gorgeous planting at the entrance. At the International Hotel the flowers and trees make all the difference. Nearby the Munster Fusiliers Monument is so well kept. Tidy Towns promotional material in disused shopfronts was admired. Well done. Thank you for joining us in celebrating 60 years.
Of the many fine business premises: overall, a great impression of care and pride is given.. Murphy’s, Casey’s, Spogler’s, Petite Delice, Scott’s… You’ll forgive the author for not listing them all here. Suffice to say, by far the greater majority looked good. A word of praise for O’Shea’s Garage – splendidly kept – not an easy task given the nature of the business. John M. Reiddy’s shop has a splendid new lease of life. O’Donovan’s Courtyard was missing a few letters. The Black Sheep called out to me, Revive Café too was appealing. The Laurels or Foley’s later? Perhaps.
The KTI grounds looked well. Gaelscoil Faithleann has a lovely stone with plaque but no Green Flag on show. Why’s this? The playground opposite was in good order but is the palisade fencing necessary? The Gabion Benches in town were admired for their style as well as function. The 4th of July bunting was still up on the 10th and all was red white and blue. A rather stern-looking Uncle Sam pointed his index finger down New Street, or he would have had it not been missing. Lady Liberty cut a somewhat sad figure. The overall effect cheapened your streetscape, it was felt. A personal opinion, only.
Green Spaces and Landscaping
A new landscaping plan has been completed. The adjudicator would have liked a little more detail on this. You reference the All Ireland Pollinator Plan here which is good to hear. Indeed biodiversity appears as a consideration in several of your ongoing and future projects. Excellent. The adjudicator was delighted to read about the KASI Community Garden Initiative. This could end up being a really great long-term project.
A neat little bit of planting was seen at the Park Road/Park Drive junction. Hydrangeas on East Avenue are still looking good, despite the paucity of water. The roses on the median opposite are also appealing. Discrete little planted containers on the Ha Ha looked well. The Mgr.O’Flaherty Monument was new to this adjudicator and looks fantastic. Some of the lettering needs to be touched up. The adjudicator isn’t sure that your street trees are getting all the space they need at the base. Have a look with an arborist please. The triangular planting at your busiest junction is pollinator-friendly, as well as lovely to look at – good stuff. The tiered planters are of a planting design here.
Ah, the National Park was even better than remembered. The Long Terrace Walk was just stunning. Plants for pollinators such as Agapanthus and Nepeta were abuzz. The decorative grasses were very graceful. The Formal Flower Garden and the tree-lined Cherry Walk were all enjoyed. The round plaques are just right for here.
Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality
This is an area of strength for you given your setting and unique natural assets. You have commissioned a new Local Area Biodiversity Plan. This is an important step, well done. There are new swift boxes bringing your total of these to five. In terms of awareness-raising and education, a good entry this year. You have a new interpretation sign and a lovely sculpture celebrating your famous deer. However, it was your collaboration with the Irish Men’s Shed that most impressed this adjudicator. For a long time, the anti-rhododendron action seemed to have fallen in to the ‘too-hard’ basket and the well-established workcamps were no more. Now, you have utilised a great national resource to aid this cause. Excellent.
The Town Tree Trail was admired. Some of the signs may need replacing soon. So too will the old Dúchas signs in the National Park – or a good clean at least. The lettering on the lectern-style sculpture on Mission Road near the Park Gate couldn’t be made out.
Sustainability – Doing more with less
A very strong entry here, Killarney, well done. This included a range of new and novel projects for you. These are diverse, from The Conscious Cup campaign to pedestrian of one of the busier streets. Green Hospitality is an important area for a town like Killarney and there is no reason why you shouldn’t shine like a green beacon for the entire country on these issues.
Have you ever hosted a national event like a Green Hospitality Conference? You hint at an initiative such as this in your entry. You have a range of ongoing initiatives that while they are the ‘bread and butter’ of this category (e.g. schools visits, awareness-raising) they take up considerable time and resources. Again, the KASI initiative is due praise here. We could probably learn from some of the overseas talent we have and you have tapped into this new sustainable resource. Well done. The adjudicator looks forward to trying out your new cycle paths.
Tidiness and Litter Control
Another good entry here. New hardware has been brought bear on the streets and professional help is engaged after the Munster Final. Thanks for all the County Clean-up statistics. While one might hope that the number of bags collected should be falling, year on year, the number of volunteers is rising. It is devoutly to be wished that the former will being to fall off and the latter to continue its most welcome increase. Again, a Meitheal is out on the streets and that is so encouraging. Our praise for the work of your Community Employment Scheme staff is expressed here. A most important part of your team. Good luck with the signage survey. Two young men were litter-picking at time of adjudication and the warm sunshine surely made this a more pleasant task. Sparklingly clean signage was admired on Mission Road. The anti dog litter bag dispenser here was unfortunately stuffed with dog waste-filled bags. One wonders… A little later, at the rather neat and tidy large car-park at the Discover Ireland Centre, the adjudicator watched a visitor tip an entire cup of unwanted hot chocolate onto the hot tarmac. The gleaming bottle banks nearby were a consolation. So too was the heartening sight of a hotel staff member pick up little bits of litter from not just their terrace but also out on the pavement for some distance.
Not every pavement was so assiduously kept, unfortunately. Litter did appear and several surfaces were stained. With what, it was hard to say but your new machinery will be kept busy for a while. The area in front of Conroy Hall was litter-strewn and had been for some time. Beside the car-park opposite O’Donoghue’s there is a bed that just contains gravel that is being kicked around. Bicycles were locked to trees which made some pavements difficult to navigate and this adjudicator is fully mobile and had no children in tow.
Residential Streets & Housing Areas
Your work necessarily extends to all of the estates and some of these are better than others. You address this well in your entry. RAPID funding has been sources in some areas, very good. There is a little overlap here with another category. Keep up the good work with the various residents’ associations. It is clear that you are well in touch with these and that your efforts are ongoing.
The Park Drive name stone is both impressive and informally appealing. Unfortunately, quite a bit of litter was in evidence at Deerpark Crescent and Arbutus Crescent. Generally speaking residential areas were in good order. Window-box planters were admired at Dalton’s Avenue, which was neat and kept. Bishop Moynihan’s Terrace has lots of good examples of care with nice Hypericums and roses at the front. A couple of good planters with flowering shrubs at the front of St Michael’s Halting Site would look very well. There is gorgeous planting at the name stone of Bridgefield. There is room for more perennial plants here, though.
Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes
Much has been done over the last year and is ongoing still. Road surfaces are improving indeed. Kerry County Council is due praise here for the scope and quality of the work that is complete and in train. The adjudicator want to stop and look at your new panoramic picture but time and traffic didn’t make this easy. An ongoing project is your laneway revitalisation and this is an area close to this adjudicator’s heart. These were visited insofar as possible and some really great work is complete or underway.
The Tralee Road approach allowed for an impressive start to this year’s adjudication. No commercial signage was in evidence and a sole piece of litter was seen on the ‘first pass’. The arched name stone looked very good. Will there be others? Cleeny roundabout was verdant despite the weather. The Killarney Looking Good signs are very appealing. The cycle path on the Relief Road was in good condition but couldn’t this extend all the way? Smooth surfaces are enjoyed by cyclists on Park Road. The Cork Road is really a lovely approach and the trees approach road untroubled by the drought. The eagle looked great on an unfussy sweep into
town.
Very good structure in the planting on the Ml. D. O’Shea roundabout was noted; wilting a bit in the heat but otherwise very nice. The Ballydowney Road roundabout looked great. Special praise for your laneways. This is a great project. The travel agent posters over one looked poor though. Major works were underway on Chapel Lane. A nearby fast-food sign could be better. The pint motif on New Market Lane is more like it. Renew pedestrian road / path markings please. Watch out for signage that has faded beyond legibility (Bohereencael, Barry’s Lane). New paint still smelled fresh on Hogan’s Lane. Mind the kegs and litter on Duckett’s Lane.
Concluding Remarks
A really memorable and informative visit was enjoyed. Your place in the top rankings is well-deserved. Looking good, Killarney.
Second Round Adjudication
The second round adjudicator would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all involved in this year’s submission and for the time and effort to achieve such high level results on the ground. The recently completed repaving and landscaping improvements at Main Street are very successful and the external usage space, now provided for various businesses, has an attractive cosmopolitan flavour here. John M. Reidy, The Medical Hall and opposite The Irish Pub, J. O’Leary (surely a preservation building) and Sheahans Pharmacy have wonderfully imaginative presentations. This attractive theme is continued along High Street where a variety of shop fronts, with good quality lettering and signage, provide a fine visual presentation.
Work was ongoing at the Killarney Carpet and Furniture Centre and the new painting scheme has the added benefit of obliterating graffiti from the wall of the adjoining arched entrance. The nearby window displays of your various awards, achievement trophies and certificates looks great. Opposite Bricíns, Foley’s and the Speakeasy have an attractive array of well-proportioned hanging signs expressed with gold leaf lettering. Floral displays here were a highlight. The educational quarter stretching along New Road, Mission Road and Cathedral Place again continues this high standard and the presentation of individual schools was admired. Public buildings, including the Garda Station, Library and Government Buildings, all looked well. However there was some graffiti on the walls on the external ramp to the back of Government building and the planted boundary area was in need of refreshing. Improvements and enhancements at New Market Lane and old Market Lane look charming and considerably add to the enjoyment of the town centre trail. In the outer town, approach roads have a welcoming atmosphere particularly on the Tralee approach where a reorganisation of signage and a nicely presented picnic area was noted.
Both the O’Shea roundabout with its colourful Begonia appearance and the Ballydowney roundabout planted to portray Kerry’s landscapes looked spectacular. Congratulations to all concerned with these efforts. Kenmare Place was a hive of activity. The nicely considered service building in the centre looks excellent, designed around mature trees and its entrance area is cleverly expressed with a box hedge feature. The town has an abundant series of incidental open spaces planted with great imagination.
The move to more sustainable planting in recent years is lauded and you are commended on receiving appropriate advice on your general programme. A visit to Killarney House was inspiring and this beautifully presented complex is a credit to all concerned. The original house restoration and the recent contemporary interpretive complex integrate very well and all were brightly painted. The views from the house to the mountains beyond are breath-taking as is the planted terrace walk. The town has a large number of housing estates and the standard is generally good. You appear to work well with the various resident groups and have forward plans for on-going improvement works. Well done on this successful programme. I fully endorse the comments and report of this year’s first round adjudicator and congratulate your committee on your partnership approach. Killarney continue to be high achievers in the competition and their high position is very well merited.
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