Laois celebrates great success in the Pride of Place Competition 2009



County Laois enjoyed great success this past weekend in the All-Island Pride of Place Awards 2009, which took place in Newcastle, Co. Down, hosted by Down District Council. Some 400 people represented groups from north and south of Ireland at the ceremony.
The awards were presented to all successful groups by Ms. Margaret Richie, Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development. In her address during the evening, the Minister paid tribute to all the participating groups who work tirelessly to create and promote pride in their cities, towns and villages.
Winners in their Category – Population 0-200 were Camross Community Group who showcased Camross village, its community and all the activities taking place there. Accepting the award on behalf of the group were Ms. Sadie McCartney and Ms. Breda Doran.
Runners up in their Category – Population 0-200 Housing Estate were Riverview Apartments, Portlaoise, a turnkey Council Housing development in which the residents, mainly senior citizens, are all actively involved in its upkeep and management. The award was accepted on the night by Cllr. Kathleen O’Brien and Ms. Anne Smyth.
Pride of Place is an initiative of Co-operation Ireland, which aims to recognise the efforts of local people to create pride in their area and to celebrate the vital contribution that community groups make to society. The competition focuses on people coming together to shape, enhance and enjoy all that is good about their area.
Laois County Council was delighted to accept on the night the overall Local Authority Award, for showing the most commitment by a local authority to the Pride of Place initiative. This prestigious award is presented to the local authority that shows a real connection between the elected members and officials of the Council and the community it works with. This was demonstrated to the judges, who particularly remarked on the number of Councillors and officials from Laois County Council who attended the judging days. A special mention was given in respect of the personal involvement of the officials with the community groups and to those mentioned in their presentations to the judges as having assisted their community activities over the years.
Cathaoirleach, Cllr. James Daly and Mr. Peter Carey, County Manager congratulated all of the entrants and the prize-winners on their success in this year’s competition and thanked them for representing Laois so well at national level.