Kilcullen Tidy Town successes 'built on years of work'

THE successes by Kilcullen in the national Tidy Towns competitions of recent years have been built on the work of successive leaders of Kilcullen Community Action (KCA), a gathering of that organisation's volunteers, CE workers and supporters was told recently.

 Current KCA chair Noel Clare name-checked Kieran Forde, Niall McDonnell, Ray Kelly, and Esther Kiely among them, several of whom were there for the occasion.

A presentation was also made to Ann Cashman, who retired as KCA chair earlier this year after serving in the position for eight years. 

On display were the bronze, silver and gold medals which had been awarded to Kilcullen in the past three years.

"The foundations of what has been achieved were laid down over those years, with those people," he said, adding that the key to success is "having good people around, to do things". 

"It does take a lot of energy, a lot of effort from a lot of people. And the more successful you are, the bigger you get, the more it demands."

Thanking all who had helped achieve major improvements to Kilcullen through the years, he expressed particular appreciation for the Community Employment teams, currently comprising Wayne Aspell, Ilona Brede, Joe Winder, and Michael Haslam. 

"We have been extremely fortunate, because their dedication and their skills are quite incredible."

Noel outlined some of the key projects undertaken this year, including the new Heritage mural, the revitalisation of the 'Fish' area at Hillside, the refreshing of the Dun Ailinne Interpretive Park, and improvements in the Valley riverside park, including new picnic tables recently installed.

 He specifically recalled the KCA input for the public realm work recently completed in downtown Kilcullen. 

"That's one of the most fantastic things that has happened in a long time in Kilcullen," he said, noting that the impetus had come from KCA's promotion of an overall plan for the Market Square area several years ago.

The table decorations at the event in Fallons were flowers grown by KCA's gardening crew, Black-eyed Susans or rudbeckia. The particular variety was Goldstrum.

 With the judging for the 2026 Supervalu Tidy Towns completed a while ago, it was a reminder to the gathering that Kilcullen's hopes are high for another good performance at the upcoming results event.