2023 was a very busy year for the hard-working volunteers of Swords Tidy Towns. All eyes were eagerly focused on the 2023 Tidy Towns National Finals, each member did their very best to achieve the Gold Medal that had so far alluded us. Our members had already done the town of Swords proud with five prior National Silver Medals in a row, no mean achievement. Everyone put in a trojan effort to change our medal colour from silver to gold, this was reflected in how close we came to achieving that goal, missing out by only one point. So close and yet so far. We brushed it off in typical Swords Tidy Towns style and celebrated our sixth in a row Silver Medal, just like the Dubs, we are now firmly focused on 2024, fingers crossed. Not a bad run of medals considering Swords was designated a litter black spot in the 2003 IBAL report, we have certainly come a long way.

Swords Tidy Towns also won the 2023 National Tidy Towns Circular Economy Award for our upcycling, recycling, composting, Swop Shop and wild flower meadows etc initiatives. The award came with a thousand-euro cheque, our Silver Medal came with a Seven-Hundred-euro cheque, all prize money will be well spent on improving the aesthetics of our wonderful town. The Swords Cultural Quarter is well under way, Ushers Lake is getting a well-deserved face lift, the old Stairways have been replaced down to the Jacko, the good work goes on. A big thank you to Fingal County Council especially their Operations Dept with whom we have worked very closely with over many years, that cooperation will continue and blossom in 2024.

Swords Tidy Towns would like to wish all of our Followers, Supporters, Sponsors, TY Students and Teachers, Local Businesses, Locally Elected Representatives, and last but by no means least, the staff at FCC a Very Happy New Year and a Prosperous and Healthy 2024.