Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe tonight announced the winners of the Dublin City Neighbourhood Awards 2019. All the winners were presented with a special certificate and prize fund at a ceremony in the Hogan Suite, Croke Park, Dublin 3.
Tonight’s winners include:
- Donnybrook Tidy Towns – The Best Urban Village
- Finglas Tidy Towns – Runner-Up
- The Little Bird Café & Yoga Studio, Dublin 8 – Business Category
Acknowledging the many hours of voluntary work put in by people in communities all over Dublin City to improve their local area, Donnybrook Tidy Towns won the Best Urban Village and were this year’s overall winners in the residential category receiving a total prize fund of €3,500. They organise many events during the year starting in the Spring with the Dublin Community Clean-up day. They work all summer planting and cleaning and spend the autumn collecting leaves as part of the “Don’t leaf it to others” initiative. Donnybrook Tidy Towns remember their nearest and dearest in the Souls of Donnybrook event and also have their Christmas Tree light-up event.
Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe said “This is the one event that I look forward to every year and tonight we celebrate the dedication of so many people in our community who strive to make their local areas a better place for all to live in and enjoy. I am so proud of all our volunteers who work tirelessly and relentlessly year after year and tonight is our way of congratulating them and thanking them on a job well done.”
Finglas Tidy Towns received runner-up prize for the great work they put into the New Biodiversity Woodland Garden in the main street in Finglas. They installed outdoor furniture, new shrubbery and wild flowers. Finglas Tidy Towns have linked in with local businesses to encourage them to improve the outside of their premises and work with the Church and schools in the area to bring it back to its former beauty.
The Little Bird Café & Yoga Studio located in the South Circular Road, Dublin 8 was the winner in the Business Category. Care of the environment is central to their business ethos and the building is designed to give back to the neighbourhood. The concrete forecourt at the front of the building was replaced with a garden to replace much needed greenery to the area. The café menus are designed to ensure minimum waste policy. All packaging is compostable and the use of take-away cups is minimised by operating a discount policy to customers to bring their own keep cups. The use of plastic is also reduced as they don’t stock any drinks in plastic bottles and offer free filtered water to all their customers.
The yoga studio is a resource for all the community with a deliberate policy of inclusiveness. The studio was built to conserve energy. The walls are highly insulated with a heat recovery system that ensures the heat is conserved while maintaining a well-ventilated space.
Organiser of the Dublin City Neighbourhood Awards, Bernie Lillis said “The annual awards are all about acknowledging in a meaningful way the hundreds of hours of voluntary work done by people in communities all over Dublin City. At a corporate level, the competition is used to foster a sense of civic pride, place and community and also to promote environmental awareness”.
Bernie added “that to receive the overall winner prize in a competition with nearly 20 different categories is an outstanding achievement. Well done to all, but particularly to Donnybrook Tidy Towns, Finglas Tidy Towns and The Little Bird Café and Yoga Studio for their passion and commitment to their communities”.
