The national Tidy Towns awards were held in Dublin last week and Boyle increased it’s overall marks from 308 in 2023 to 317 this year.
The following is the adjudicator’s report on Boyle:
Thank you for your application form and map. You have a committee of 9 with 65 people who support your work by volunteering with you. A broad range of organisations support you, and you engage with the PPN network. It is lovely to read about the support you get from businesses in Boyle.
You have a strong focus on encouraging social inclusion and supporting new residents in getting involved in the
Tidy Towns group. You have engaged with the transition years at Abbey Community College, and they are working hard to increase the amount of biodiversity on their school grounds. Have you considered working tighter on a project about the Sustainable Development Goals?
The adjudicator came across your post about the Boyle Tidy Towns Award on Facebook. This sounds like a
fantastic community event. Please include more information about the event in next year’s Tidy Towns application.
You have an excellent Facebook page that focuses on celebrating the activities of your Tidy Towns group. Have
you considered pinning a message on the page during regular work hours? This would mean that potential
volunteers will always be able to find you. Over 20 years of entering the Tidy Towns competition have given the
community a focal point for people to work together to improve the town.
Streetscape and public places
The streetscape is in transition. The new footpaths and the proposed car park will make a big difference once they are completed. You have some very informative heritage signage. It is lovely to see a small town with a variety of small shops. There were some lovely shopfronts across the whole of the centre of the town, with some lovely authentic shopfronts. Do you encourage the shop owners to maintain them?
Your proposal for new benches will enhance the crescent area. There was nicely presented business in the area;
the adjudicator particularly enjoyed the appearance of the Roscommon Herald building, Moylurg Inn, the Book Lady and the café by the river—beautiful public spaces around the river, especially between the footbridge and the bridge on the N61. However, in some places, the capstones on the wall needed to be replaced. There was a nicely managed public space between the carpark and the bazaar. This could be a great location for some public art.
The GAA grounds and both the Bank of Ireland have been made accessible. It is good to read about your
engagement with the owners of derelict buildings in the town. Have you shared information about the current available grants? St. John Resource Centre looked very good on adjudication day.
Boyle abbey is very well preserved and is an important part of Boyles Heritage. Is the Tidy Towns group involved with its maintenance?
Green Spaces and Landscaping
The work that the students of Abbey Community College have done in tackling Scholars Corner is tremendous. Has any work been done on seasonal planting in this area? It could be a good location for some pollinator-friendly bulbs, such as crocus and muscari, that will flower early in spring and produce food for early flowering insects.
You have some very green fingers in your committee. The planting around the crescent area was genuinely exceptional. You had a wonderful mix of perineal-friendly planting that enhanced the area. You had chosen plants with a variety of heights, and this really added interest to the area. The hanging basket on the bridge also looked very good. St Josephs church also looked very good, and there was some well-managed green space. There may be potential in managing some of these grassy areas for wildflowers. You can get some more advice on the
pollinators.ie website. There was some beautiful planting on Station Road that complemented that water feature.
The adjudicator particularly enjoyed the geraniums and Hostas. Is there an area managed by the residents or the
Tidy Towns group? There were lovely planters at the day centre.
Nature and Biodiversity in your locality
The proposed biodiversity project for the lawn at Abbey Community College sounds intriguing. The adjudicator is looking forward to an update on next year’s application. The students have worked hard to create insect hotels and owl boxes. Have you identified a safe location to put up the boxes? The Barn Owl Project and the Barn Owl Trust have some excellent information about identifying locations for putting up barn owl boxes. The insect hotels are a wonderful initiative. To complement the use of insect hotels, you could locate some quiet, shaded corners where you could leave some old wood to decompose slowly. These provide excellent habitats for insects. Have you considered contacting your local water and communities officer(LAWPRO) to discuss the river and its wildlife? Perhaps you could organise a walk and talk about the river?
Sustainability – Doing More with Less
It was good to see the new bicycle racks in Boyle. Have you organised any cycle safety events in Boyle? This could promote safe cycling and reduce car journeys taken in town. It is good for the second-hand shops in the community. These will help to encourage reuse instead of people sending goods to landfills.
You mentioned that you had good connectivity to the local link bus system. Perhaps you could identify a location where you could display the bus timetable? Other possible activities in this category could be hosting a plant or seed swap. This could be attached to another event that you are organising. Or perhaps you could develop some energy or sustainability-saving tips for town residents. These could be shared online.
Tidiness and Litter Control
You are in contact with the ESB to get poles maintained, and you are looking to get some poles replaced. When you can ask them to put the wire underground, it is good to read about the efforts you put into segregating water after collection. Have you found that the new levy has reduced the number of bottles and cans dropped in the town? It was lovely to see pictures of the school students getting involved in litter management on Facebook.
Some of the street furniture in the community looked worn and could do with a retouch.
Boyle certainly put a lot of effort into litter control. The town was almost litter-free on adjudication day, so the weekly litter picks must work well. The Nordson Medical Day will make a significant impact on the community. It is lovely to see a large business giving back to the community. However, all the companies have put much effort into maintaining their properties to a high standard. Have you taken part in either the Adopt a Bring Bank or Bottle Bank scheme that is run by the county council?
Residential Streets and Housing Areas
The residents of Boyle clearly take great pride in maintaining their properties to a high standard. The properties in both Abbey Heights and Forest View all looked very good.
Seeing a bed full of daisies was lovely, and the entry to the estates and forest view had some beautiful mature trees that should be protected. Have you considered putting some seating areas into the estates? There were some lovely private gardens, and the adjudicator especially enjoyed the one full of lavender. Abbey Terrace also looked excellent on adjudication day. The estate next to the convent National School had some well-presented houses and mature trees. The adjudicator could not find its name sign, and the road surface needed to be improved. Plunkett Avenue also looked very well maintained by the residents. The playground was well-kept and litter-free.
Approach Roads, Streets and Lanes
The Sligo approach road looked excellent, with well-managed personal planting and neatly mown grass, especially at the junctions. There are some wildflowers around the 60 km speed limit, which the Tidy Towns group manages. The name signs looked very good and were nicely planted with geraniums. Have you considered using these geraniums at every name sign on the approach roads to create a strong sense of place? There was an unusual-looking monument by the junction near the abbey. What is it?
The R294 approach looked perfect and had excellent pedestrian connectivity. The bed under the blue name sign
had not been planted yet, perhaps because of this year’s difficult weather. Maybe you have plans to do it later in the season. The bed under the green name sign was a bit shaded, so the planting was not thriving.
The display of farm implements on Tarmon Road looks very good. Is the Tidy Towns group involved in this?
Concluding Remarks:
It would be very beneficial if you included a little more information about your activities in the application form as it would give the adjudicator a broader image of everything that you do. Boyle is a thriving vibrant small town and this is something that everyone should be very proud of.
