Moynalty 'surprised' by points gain as it sweeps to 16th TT county title

There were celebrations in Moynalty yet again on Monday night when the local tidy towns committee celebrated its 16th consecutive county win. Gaining three points on last year, the north Meath village was just four short of the overall winner, Tallanstown, Co Louth, and held onto its Gold Medal award. Local Tidy Towns Committee chairman, Peter Rogers, said they were delighted with their marks this year, as they hadn't been expecting too much. "All our work here hasn't been completed. The overhead wires in the village are being replaced at the moment, so we are happy with our score," he said. He pointed out that work was taking place on the new roads and footpaths over the summer when judging was taking place. "We hadn't expected to gain that much this year, but as the work will be completed for next year, we hope to do even better," he said. "It was good to gain three points." He congratulated Moynalty's neighbour, Tallanstown, on its overall win and also Trim on its high score and bronze medal. A large crowd travelled from Moynalty to the awards ceremony in Dublin on Monday and the celebrations continued on into the night in the village. This year, 17 groups from Meath entered the national tidy towns competition. Trim also did very well in the competition, gaining two extra marks on its result last year and retaining the town's Bronze Medal award. Trim finished in second place in the county and was also highly commended in the competition overall. Trim Tidy Towns chairperson Brian Heffernan said: "We retained our Bronze Medal and gained an extra two marks. We were hoping to do a bit more but there is always next year." One area highlighted by the judges was the fact that ESB cables had not been placed underground and Mr Heffernan said this was something that was out of their control. "It is a major problem for Trim and is an area where we could gain an extra couple of points straight away but there is nothing we can do." Mr Heffernan said the extra marks gained by Trim was down to work the committee had been doing and that the town had gained two marks for waste minimisation through the Trim 2025 project and also gained a mark for wildlife and amenities. One mark was lost for tidiness which Mr Heffernan said they were a bit disappointed with - this was down to street furniture and rusty bins. Third prize in Meath went to Batterstown, which was were commended, and Oldcastle received an Endeavour Award. The full results for Meath are as follows: Category A - Moynalty 303, Batterstown 278, Kilskyre 257, Dunsany 238, Killyon-Hill of Down 232, Rath Chairn 205, Drumconrath 203. Category B - Slane 275, Castletown-Kilpatrick 270, Julianstown 251. Category C - Enfield 274, Laytown 215. Category D - Oldcastle 219. Category E - Trim 286, Dunshaughlin 250, Ashbourne 220. Category G - Navan 261.