Summerhill to represent Meath in prestigious IPB Pride of Place showcase

Summerhill has been chosen to represent Meath in the prestigious IPB Pride of Place competition, an all-Ireland competition that acknowledges the work being done by communities all over the island of Ireland.

This is Summerhill's first time to represent Meath in the competition and local tidy towns PRO Bern Gannon said they were "delighted" and "very proud" to have been chosen.

She explained that Summerhill Tidy Towns has been in existence since 1962 and since then has a continuous and active revolving committee.

"The current tidy towns is up and running 14 years and we have a really strong committee. We are very proud of the fact we've been chosen and all our hard work is being recognised. We are delighted."

Their efforts were give a huge boost last year when Summerhill was gifted one of the gardens from Bord Bia Bloom. Bern explained that each year, Bord Bia chose different groups to receive a garden, it could be a nursing home, or a tidy towns group, for example.

"It arrived in a truck. There were 10 mature trees and thousands of plants so we were able to gift plants to every housing estate in the village. Some of the trees went into the health centre and the trees were planted with the help of James Flynn of the local Flynns Nursery as the holes had to be dug with a mini-digger. It was a real community effort. We spent all last summer busy planting."

"We also got three lovely granite benches that are now in Dangan Graveyard so the whole village benefited from the Bord Bia Garden."

Summerhill Tidy Towns have a number of water butts in place to harvest rainwater which is used to water all the plants in the village, and also places emphasis on biodiversity planting to also do their bit for the environment.

An old stone cross that dates back to the mid 16th century that lay on the village green for many many years now stands proudly and has recently been encased to protect it from the elements.

"It was dedicated in honour of Peter Lynch after his death by his wife Elizabeth circa 1560. It now stands proudly on our village green and thanks to the hard work and dedication of local historian and tidy towns volunteers Aidan Holmes, it is now protected for generations to come," said Bern.

Judging for the local Meath Pride of Place competition took place on Friday while judging for the national IPB Pride of Place Competition will take place later this month. Summerhill Tidy Towns will be invited to the National Final which is due to take place in Armagh City Hotel on 10th November, when they will find out how they fared in the competition.

Bern is also encouraging new people to get involved: "We have a committee of 12 but we are badly in need of young, new, vibrant members to bring new ideas and energy. We would love to get some new people involved."

The works in recent years on the Village Green have greatly enhanced the centre of Summerhill. However, the need for traffic calming was a major concern for many local groups and organisations including the local Meals on Wheels and Third Age Foundation. A campaign was launched last year seeking traffic calming measures and two ramps were recently installed by Meath Co Council. One is located at Dangan NS and the other at the Sona Sásta/Meals on Wheels premises.

"I did an accessibility study four years ago and one of the areas it highlighted was the need for traffic calming. The ramps went in two week ago and seem to be working well so far," said Bern.