KILLARNEY improved its overall mark in this year’s Tidy Towns competition by a hugely impressive eight points, gaining a mark in every category and rising from the 334 awarded last year to 342 out of a possible 470.
The adjudicators concluded: “It was a pleasure to visit Killarney and see the many improvements that have taken place since our last visit”. This is the edited report from the judges:
Your committee with the title of Killarney Looking Good has a large core membership of 17 members and a staggering 500 volunteers who assist as needed. This is evidence of strong links with residents, voluntary groups and schools. You have an impressive record of achievement, having been a participant in the competition for 29 years and winning the overall award in 2011.
We were very impressed with Killarney, the many fine building, including hotels, offices and shops were a delight and everywhere is looking so well.
We admired the improvement works completed at the car/bus park at Rock Road, the refurbishment of public conveniences at High Street and the ploughing sculpture. Well done on the treatment of derelict sites and the railings at the Friary are looking very well.
Monsignor O’Flaherty is well remembered in Killarney. He was mentioned on a plaque at the beautiful stone old monastery building set in a landscape of established trees, there is a large mural of him on a gable wall and there is the statue to him with several plaques at the entrance to Killarney House and Gardens. They made very interesting reading and are to a high standard.
The magnificent cathedral is an iconic feature in Killarney. It is matched by the fine specimen of Sequoiadendron which is in perfect scale with the building.
The GAA grounds have an elaborately designed entrance painted in brown and yellow. Buildings which caught our eye were the Fairview Hotel and the Care Plus Pharmacy on Park Road which also pleased. Killarney Outlet Centre is an attractive complex which is enhanced with a landscaped setting.
The Fire Station is unusual because it looks more like a home than a station. We liked the design and the stone wall boundary. The photo displays in the windows of the vacant premises on High Street is an excellent way of turning a negative into a positive.
The main structural elements in the landscape are trees and in Killarney, you have many good examples. In fact, we were excited to see so many fine specimens of existing mature trees as well as successful planting from recent decades and recent years. Our observations are that either you have a good climate with good soil for trees or you have people who know how to care for them, but perhaps you have all of these.
There are many excellent avenues of trees to be seen and they add significantly to the Killarney town landscape. In planting new trees, it is best to use a single species on a road or street for uniformity and this is what you have done. Also, it is important to ensure that the base of new trees is maintained free of weeds, grass and flower beds to ensure early establishment and we are pleased to state that this good practice is the norm in Killarney.
When trees are established it is important to remove the stakes as the stems can get damaged from the ties or stake. The only place we saw this problem was in the gardens at Killarney House, where we witnessed a man busily removing the stakes and ties. Well done.
Guidelines for plant containers is to use them only where planting directly into the ground is not possible; they should not in themselves attract any notice. It is better to have fewer well planted containers than a large number in which the quality of plants is inferior. We are pleased to report that there is no over-reliance on using plant containers in Killarney and in most cases, you have planted directly into the ground.
We liked the way flowering plants were placed around the area for the jarvies; it is well done.
This adjudicator had often visited Killarney as a tourist and taken in the Muckross House and Gardens which are always excellent. On this occasion, it was our first time to see the gardens at Killarney House and we were well pleased. This is a wonderful addition to the townscape.
The Green Schools Programme is a very positive movement and it is great that all your local primary and secondary schools have obtained Green Flags. Well done to the Youth Co-ordinator Officer for working with the schools and giving talks on relevant subjects as a way of getting them involved. We visited St Oliver’s School and were very impressed with the building and the treed landscape setting.
In Killarney, overall, the emphasis really needs to be on reducing the volume of waste produced rather than recycling which is taken for granted. At this level of the contest the adjudicator wants to see innovation in tackling bigger issues of food waste, plastic disposal and energy use.
The slogan Killarney Looking Good is very apt and we congratulate you on your success in the campaign against litter. The strategies of regular and seasonal litter clean-ups is working well; it is great to see the combined efforts of council employees and volunteers working together and achieving so much.
Your success in controlling graffiti is admirable and we wish you well in working with art classes in schools. The various painting schemes also come under this heading and we see that this work includes painting bollards, bins, kerbs, railings and fences. The weed control programme is very important to limit the spread of Japanese Knotweed.
We visited Kilcoolaght residential estate where we noted the houses were looking very well. It is great to see the combined efforts of residents from six estates being effective. We wondered why the street names were placed so close to the ground on the garden walls when in other estates they are more visible being placed on the sides of houses. Residents are taking good care through clean-ups and weed control.
Arlington Estate was very good and Saill Ardan is a very pleasant estate and the established trees add enhancement. The estate is fortunate to have a good-sized open space but the front gardens in the estate are quite small.
Perhaps the most impressive residential estate we saw was near the N22, with the sign, Oak, Elm, Beech estates and then later, Bruach na hAbhann. These estates had fine houses, open spaces and most of all some of the finest rows of trees we have seen on our visit to Kerry. Well worth a picture as an example to others in how it is done.
No litter to be seen anywhere. Approaches to Killarney are very pleasant, all have green routes to greet you and, in many cases, good quality trees. In general, roads and footpaths were in good condition and we admired the new improvement works done on Mission Road.
What really impressed us were the roundabouts. Park Road Roundabout is a great job with flowers all around the edge and taller planting towards the centre. This is high quality. The less sophisticated Cleeny Roundabout was also admired. The Ballydowney Roundabout was revamped from a rocky landscape to an oasis of colour that will attract pollinators as well as humans. All signs were clean and well done on planting 800 metres of new hedgerow from Lissivigeen School towards Pike Hill.
The Blue Pool Walk is a work in progress and will be adjudicated when the current upgrading has been completed. Killarney House and Gardens were enjoyed. Located at a key point in the town it has an additional benefit of free admission, not possible abroad to an attraction of its stature. It has a very good audio-visual introduction before one experiences the gardens. It was pleasing to see so many pollinators, particularly those with the colours blue, purple and yellow.
Will visitors see the humour in the plough sculpture? Hilarious. Thanks to the donor of the plough.
The tree planting behind the short terrace of houses on Lower New Street was admired. Nearby is an alcove with a display of New Zealand and Australian ferns together with local Irish ferns. It also has a delicate sculpture. There are lots of information plaques which are badly in need of cleaning. Text not readable.
The National Park beckons. Tempus fugit. The OPW and whoever else is involved in actively providing facilities for children is commended. Knockreer Education Centre, bird sculpture using fallen trees, a modern playground and the stag outside the National Park at the corner of Port Road/New Road.
The new bus/car park on Rock Road was officially opened just last May. Usage is slow by observation, but it will increase.
The Town Hall looks very well, nicely adorned with flower containers. Residential areas are an important part of Killarney’s community, Off Upper Lewis Road, Dalton’s Avenue is an attractive entrance. Marian Terrace and others contribute to the estate.
Ballydribbeen – or should it be Derreen – has an attractive name sign at the entrance. A modern neighbourhood Bruach na Habhann is rightly named because they are on a riverbank. Beside them is a new housing estate by Thermohouse for Cúid.
Finally, a project that caught the eye is Kasi Garden. Very colourful and professional. A wide range of vegetables being grown. Well done to all concerned.
The full judging reports for all Kerry entrants can be found on the Tidy Towns website
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