HILLSBOROUGH, scene of numerous North South political meetings, is the best kept town in Ireland. The Co Down town's new status was announced yesterday at a ceremony marking the second year of an all Ireland competition for this award, drawing on the winners of the Tidy Towns competition and the Northern Ireland Best Kept Awards Scheme.
There were 17 entrants, five from Northern Ireland and 12 from the Republic. They were the winners of the five main categories in the Best Kept Awards scheme, and the winners of the regional and population categories in the 1996 Tidy Towns competition.
Hillsborough was judged the best kept small town, as well as winning the overall award, both worth £2,500.
Ardagh, Co Longford, winner of last year's top award in the Tidy Towns competition, was the best kept village. Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, was the best kept large town. They also both won £2,500.
All winners will have a specially commissioned piece of sculpture, designed around a tree of their choice, installed.
Presenting the overall award, the Minister of State for the Environment, Ms Liz McManus, said the awards improved the towns and villages involved and helped to build bridges of friendship between communities North and South. Mr Joe Cowan, deputy secretary of the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, who presented one of the awards, said many people from the North had visited Kinsale, last year's winner, and the competition had worthwhile social and economic spinoffs.
Mr Eoin McGettigan, chief executive of Supervalu, which sponsors the awards, said their success showed the benefit of the principle of mutual respect between partners, on which his company was founded.