Adare Tidy Towns Newsletter February 2021

While the annual Tidy Towns Competition did not take place this year due to the Covid Pandemic, the Tidy Towns volunteers were busy in Adare carrying out regular grass cutting and flower bed and hedge maintenance around the Village and planning improvement projects for next year’s Tidy Towns Award (see below)

All of our actions have been guided by the comments of judges both in Adare and in other high – achieving towns and villages. We have also taken the advice of consultants, who themselves are judges in other locations in order to get us into line with their thinking.

Projects started or completed in 2020

  • installation of contact free water refill station at the Heritage centre in conjunction with Limerick Co. Council
  • clean-up of the stream and surrounding plant beds at the Droichideen wash pool
  • clear out of old plants and replacement with pollinator friendly and colourful shrubs and plants at the wash pool area
  • clean-up of the area around the Grotto at the CBS Monastery
  • clean out of overgrown plants and shrubs in the Park with the help of LCCC
  • removal of ivy from the wall on Station Road to expose the high quality stone work
  • removal of ivy from tree trunks and of weeds from kerbing in Dovecot avenue
  • cutback of hedges in the cemetery car park and repair of the fence in the area
  • progress on developing a Heritage and Nature trail in Adare

Projects being progressed at present

  1. Renovation of the Fountain area

Following an assessment by Limerick heritage Architects ACP, the fountain was found to have deteriorated significantly over the years and is now unsafe. Estimates of the most basic renovation were in the range €60,000 – €70,000. This is clearly outside the scope of normal Tidy Town’s finances.

We made an application under the Local Government Town and Village Renewal Scheme to fully renovate the fountain and surrounding area and were awarded a grant of €40,000 in August. This, allied to Cllr Bridie Collins GMA grant, made the project possible.

Apart from reconditioning the fountain to make it safe and operational, the proposed design will remove some of the planting in the area, make the area wheelchair accessible and install wooden seating and improved lighting. An artist’s impression of the project scope is attached below. The design will be made public when it is finalised.

Schematic of refurbished fountain

2. Planting of spring and summer bulbs in selected areas

The thinking in tidy towns judging has moved from manicured areas to a more “natural” appearance with as much perennial planting as possible. The requirement for less watering is also important from a sustainability point of view. The main area will be the park but other locations will be planted too. 

3. Preparation of an Adare Heritage and Nature trail

A Heritage and Nature trail brochure will be prepared containing a map and QR codes providing information on the main points of interest around Adare. Information signs will also be placed at the selected locations.

4. Increasing our online presence

Many of the more successful towns are very strong in the use of Facebook, Twitter etc to keep their townsfolk and wider public informed while keeping the use of paper to a minimum. We need to improve in this area.