Moynalty being judged in international competition today

by Ronan Smyth

The village of Moynalty will be put under an international spotlight today as judges for the Communites in Bloom competition arrive to make their assessments.

Established in Canada in 1995, the Communities in Bloom is an international award similar to the Tidy Town Awards here in Ireland.

Moynalty will be judged by Lucie Gagné from Canada and Piet Boersma from the The Netherlands on criteria such as tidiness, enviromental action, heritage conservation, landscape, urban forestry, and floral displays.

Fine Gael Meath East TD Regina Doherty has wished Moynalty Village the best of luck in the competition saying that “This is a fantastic opportunity for Moynalty, and it is well deserved. A huge amount of effort is made by local people to make sure that Moynalty always looks picture perfect; ensuring flowers are watered, walls are painted and the streets are swept clean.”

Ms Doherty continued “I hope Moynalty gets the recognition it deserves. It is a huge achievement to have got this far in the competition.”

Moynalty will be competing in the International Challenge Small Category along with towns such as Castlegar in British Columbia and Settler, Alberta.

Last year Moynalty was named Ireland’s Tidest Town, beating out 832 other towns and villages for the top honour, 30 years after winning its first Tidy Towns award.

The results of the competition will be announced in a special ceremony on the 17th September 2014, in Charlottetown Canada.