Clonmel's Tidy Towns committee does great work to improve the town's appearance

With the relaunch of the National Tidy Towns competition this year, members of Clonmel’s Tidy Towns committee are back working together again as a group.
Volunteers can be seen around Clonmel each week, carrying out great work to enhance and improve the town’s appearance. 
Clonmel Tidy Towns began as a group back in November 1984. Over the years the group has worked hard to promote the ethos of Tidy Towns with its sense of community, pride of place and volunteerism. 
In recent years the national Tidy Towns competition has evolved towards the promotion of sustainable communities. There was a time when manicured lawns and straight borders were the order of the day. Today, biodiversity is king. 
It is now necessary as part of the application to the national competition to produce a three or five-year plan that must be current, relevant and realistic. 
Fortunately Clonmel’s five-year plan was commissioned by Clonmel Borough District Council, for which the committee is very grateful. The plan is dedicated to the memory of Frank O’Donoghue and Martin Behan, two long-serving, dedicated and sadly missed committee members who died in recent years. 
The plan shows short, medium and long-term projects that demonstrate to the adjudicators that the committee is moving forward in an organised approach across all competition categories.
Involvement, buy-in and participation by all sectors of the Clonmel community is vital.
It is all for the betterment of society and gives the community ownership of the lived environment.
For adjudication purposes the boundaries of the town are from the Cahir Road roundabout to the Moangarriff roundabout, taking in the Wilderness Gorge; along the old Waterford Road and including the river walk (Blueway) up to the Gashouse Bridge, as well as Loreto Park; Raheen Road to the Dungarvan Road roundabout; and Upper Irishtown as far as the Cahir Road roundabout.
The river forms the western boundary.
Over the years Clonmel has enjoyed great medal success in many categories. The committee is delighted that the SuperValu Tidy Towns competition resumes this year, having been suspended last year due to Covid-19. 
Although the Covid lockdowns put an end to group activities, members continued to pick litter and tend to landscaped areas. 
They are delighted that with the easing of restrictions they can again work together as a group. 
The members meet at The Hub in Market Place at 7pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
They also meet at 11 am on Saturdays to work on one of their many projects. 
The committee welcomes new members, as the task is a tough one and they need all the help they can get. 
People may see pictures of their work and contact the committee on Instagram and Facebook @clonmeltidytowns. 
One of their projects was the development of a sensory biodiverse garden at St Mary’s primary school for use by the children in the Cherry Blossom ASD preschool, the primary school and Clonmel Daycare Centre for the Elderly.