The title may seem catchy but Cobh is indeed the Cleanest Large Town in Ireland in the recent 2021 National Tidy Town Awards. 847 small and big town entries from across Ireland fielded their interests this year for the coveted awards.
The whole process from selection to the presentation of this year’s awards was a success to all because the 2020 Tidy Towns did not push through during the pandemic lockdown. Having also bagged the Special Covid 19 Community Award, Cobh is just one of the many communities out there which continue to look after their surrounding even on challenging times.
There’s no denying the real winners here are the many volunteers who have given their time and labour to the Tidy Towns cause, and as a Cobh resident, i can’t help but be proud of their untiring dedication in beautifying our town all year round. While visitors are checking out things to see in Cobh, there are these tidy warriors who are putting extra effort to make the town presentable.
Before one even set foot to the town of Cobh, one can feel a historical welcome in this commissioned mural and project by the Cobh Tidy Towns people. This 58 metre long wall piece depicts significant events in Cobh’s history to its current state as a friendly tourist town.
A walk in the Town Centre is a walk among charming old buildings and seasonal flowers. These colourful plants, tended by Cobh Tidy Towns volunteers, often compliment these vibrant row of buildings and are nice features to the quaintness of this town.
Cobh has a splendid hillside view of the Cork Harbour. In order to enjoy this seascape, they make sure the vista points are spick and span clean. The Cobh Tidy Town volunteers perform chores like painting the benches, clearing the vegetation and other maintenances.
Beach clean-up is regularly done during the busy summer to keep the shores clean and litter-free. Aside from the regular volunteers, local students and other organizations also help up with the trash pick-up.
A lot of tidying up really are done without us noticing the volunteers doing their work. It is fascinating to see though how neat the walkways and trails are and knowing some active community members are contributing to make Cobh the Tidy Town that we can appreciate.
The Burma Steps is a place in Cobh where it does not get a lot of tourist traffic but for locals this is an important shortcut to get to the Town Centre. It sometimes saddens me to see these steps with beer cans and bottles, but at the same time it also gladdens me to know the good people of Cobh Tidy Towns are doing amazing work in sprucing this area.
It’s definitely a good year to be living on an actual tidy town winner. We are lucky and thankful for having a devoted community of volunteers, but i think the other message here is that everybody has to do their part so Cobh will stay attractive and desirable to all. It’s a win-win when locals and visitors benefit with this recognition. Big congratulations again to Cobh Tidy Towns for a well-deserved 2021 Tidiest Large Town in Ireland.
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