Swords Tidy Towns won the National Tidy Towns Diversity Award in 2017 in recognition of the wonderful diversity within our group. Two of our members, Mary Maxwell and Matt Cullen, designed a new inclusiveness sculpture to celebrate this win and to acknowledge that this diversity has continued to grow since then.
On Tuesday evening July 30, 2019 the completed project was finally launched. Despite the showery weather, spirits were high as members of the group and local guests and dignitaries gathered at the site close to the Malahide Roundabout , and huddled under shared umbrellas. Fingal County Council was represented by CEO Ann Marie Farrelly, Mayor Eoghan O’Brien and Councillors Darragh Butler and Joe Newman.
Our chairman, Ken Duffy, gave a speech in which he acknowledged the successful cooperative efforts of Swords Tidy Towns, Fingal County Council and members of the Swords community. He thanked Colin Rigney and the Fingal Operations Department, and the volunteers of STT for all their efforts. He also acknowledged the advice given by Martin Nulty and Martin Tully in regard to the choice of plants and how best to plant them. He thanked the 164th Brackenstown Bobcats cubs, who joined us for planting one Saturday morning.
Ken thanked those involved in the making of the Inclusiveness sculpture. Mary Maxwell and Matt Cullen came up with the concept, and Billy McClean worked with them to install the sleepers. Colourtrend Swords advised on the choice of staining. Lindsey Balfe, a teacher at St Finians Community College cut out all of the letters and made the logos for the sleepers.
Speeches acknowledging the successful cooperative efforts of Swords Tidy Towns and Fingal Operations Department were given by Ann Marie Farrelly, (CEO), and Mayor Eoghan O’Brien who then cut the ribbon.
The celebration continued in Wright’s Bar over finger food, coffee, tea and a drop of something stronger.
Swords Tidy Towns 