Roscrea always a 'welcoming town' says Tidy Towns Chairman

Roscrea Tidy Towns held their AGM recently and were also joined by some of the new residents at the international protection centre in Racket Hall and Corville House for a clean-up of the town centre and approach roads.

Following his welcome of the good attendance of members, the Chairman reviewed the past year’s activities and said the group are delighted to have increased their marks in the national competition by thirteen points and retain Roscrea's Bronze Medal.

He outlined the improvements that have been made in the past year – the highlight being the new mural of the Hare on Church St – closely followed by the memorial plaques honouring locals and others for their part in Roscrea’s History.
The newly opened Health Centre is a wonderful addition to the town replacing what had been a dangerous derelict building, he added.

The work we do annually is both of a pretty and a messy nature. The floral displays in both gardens and baskets or containers throughout the town are a great asset, brightening up our town. We have a number of gardens in different locations, which we maintain, offering places of escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The trailer full of rubbish collected on the approach road to Roscrea recently. Photo: Dick Conroy

The messy part of our work is the litter-picking, much of which is accomplished with the aid of our Roscrea Community Employment Forum Workers and Barney Loughnane, one of our members who so diligently litter-picked the streets on weekends, to which we owe a great deal of thanks.

Unfortunately, Barney is currently incapacitated and cannot continue. His place has been taken by Peter Doherty, one of our CE Forum workers, which is much appreciated”.

Already this year over 880Kg of litter has been collected. Much of this is from late night revellers, especially on weekends, who forget to bin their rubbish. There is little excuse for this as there are bins provided in town and Roscrea Tidy Towns are aware of some members of the public who dispose of their household litter either in the bins or on the wayside. This too, is not a welcome idea.

One of the most frustrating parts of our litter-collecting has to be cigarette butts. They are practically impossible to pick up with the pickers as they wedge in every crevice in the pavement. In an effort to Make Roscrea Better, and reduce this problem, it would be great if local businesses either swept outside their own premises or erected wall ashtrays.

ROSCREA'S 'BAD PRESS'

At their AGM the Chairman also stated that he was very disappointed with the bad press that the town has received in recent times.

Roscrea has always been welcoming of those fleeing conflict. Roscrea Tidy Towns has been greatly helped with volunteers from the International Protection Applicants attending our workdays throughout 2022 and 2023. They have enabled the group to complete tasks much more effortlessly and in a shorter time.

He continued to say that we have a great town here with some great facilities such as our Leisure Centre, Sports Clubs and Schools. It is most unfortunate that, in order to make headlines, Roscrea is being portrayed as an unwelcome place for foreigners.

The real issue is the closure of the hotel, the only one in town, leaving us without any facilities for celebrations, fundraising, general socialising and without any thought for tourism, he said.

What is very frustrating is that all this was done without prior consultation from government officials and an awareness of the impact it would have on the local community.

The Roscrea Tidy Towns team hard at work on the N7 approach road. Photo: Dick Conroy

Before closing the meeting, the Chairman encouraged all estates to form committees and contact Roscrea Tidy Towns with a view to getting a helping hand with their projects, where possible, and so that we can demonstrate an active town in our submission.

He thanked all members for attending and looked forward to the new season beginning Saturday 23rd March at 10am at the Fountain.