The Newspaper with the BIGGEST circulation in the North County Your Quality Local Newspaper 24th September 2013 • Volume 20, Issue 36 Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
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Communities Recognised The annual Fingal Cleaner Communities Awards were presented at a ceremony at County Hall, Swords on Thursday last. This is always an eagerly anticipated event, which stirs up great excitement and passion, as communities vie for recognition from the judges. There was great jubilation in Lusk, as the town was awarded the Best Presented Town in Balbriggan/Swords electoral area and their Tidy Towns Association scooped the Overall Fingal Cleaner communities Award title for their excellent work and continuing dedication to maintaining their village. This year, there were over 100 entries across all categories, ranging from Best Front Garden
By Patrick Finnegan to the Green Business Award. The number of prizes was increased by six since 2012 due to the extremely high standard and number of entries. The awards were presented by County Mayor, Kieran Dennison and Director of Services at The County Council, PJ Howell. The Mayor congratulated the winners saying, “The Cleaner Communities awards fosters great
community spirit. Householders who may not know each other have turned out to take part in clean-ups in their local areas, having been encouraged, or coerced by their local tidy towns communities.” “We owe a great deal of gratitude to those people who encourage the rest of us to take pride in our surroundings,” he said. Director of Services, PJ Howell also remarked that “the standard this year is higher than ever before and is a continuing testament to the concern and pride Fingal residents and businesses have for the environment in which we
work and live” he concluded. The great pity is that not all communities treat these awards with the respect and importance that they deserve, and award winners who failed to turn up, need to re-evaluate their commitment to this very worthwhile project. This year, however, there was a lacklustre response from certain communities and this journalist was astounded to find out that, of the 41 awards on the night, only 33 were collected. Eight award winners felt it was not worth the bother to collect their awards. The County Council go to great lengths to host this
competition and deserve great credit for their efforts in recognising community and business efforts. The judges spend long hours deciding on the overall winners. This is a painstaking exercise and one that adds great value to an area. This is where the excellent work of committees and volunteers is recognised in a very public way. So it beggars belief that some award winners did not see fit to turn up. Surely some representative could have been there.
Pictured at the Country Crest stand at The Flavours of Fingal County Show at Newbridge House are Caoimhe (8) and Shona (3) McCann from Ballyboughal.
Lessons Of Tragic Mary Need To Be Learned The story of the tragic Swords lady, who was found dead in her apartment after, what is thought to be a year, is set to generate debate about how we fail to look out for each other in a fast moving world. It is a sharp reminder of how society has changed and how we are less likely to interact with our neighbours and relatives, than people did in generations past. Fifty-six year old Mary Fox was discovered at her home at Cooldriona Court in Swords on 14th July last, after a building society contacted her brother, Brendan to say she was in arrears on a loan. He acted as guarantor for the loan. He told Dublin Coroner’s Court that he had not seen his sister, whom he described as being an alcoholic and suffered from depression, for over
a year, as a result of a family dispute. Mary was in the care of mental health services at Curam in Swords and consultant psychiatrist, Dr Declan Murray said that Ms Fox had been discharged from the clinic and was back in the care of her GP since July 2010, having successfully completed her treatment. The County Leader contacted some related agencies about the need to look out for people, who may be in vulnerable situations, especially with the seasons changing and darker evenings on the way. Whilst Mary was far from elderly, the need to be aware of our neighbours goes far beyond the realm of age. Continued on page 19
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