Twenty years ago, in 2004 Swords Tidy Towns was formed in response to the IBAL report of 2003 when Swords was designated a litter black spot, one of the dirtiest Towns in Ireland.

Our goal from the beginning was to make the town of Swords once again a town we could all be proud of. We believe our volunteers over the years have achieved that, Swords is looking fantastic, the many hours of hard work over the years is a testament to that. Of course, our goal would not have been obtainable without the ongoing support of Fingal County Council and local business for which we are grateful.

Finally, we have achieved our goal and just reward for our hard work, Swords Tidy Towns were awarded its first National Gold Medal after six National Silver Medals in a row in this year’s National Tidy Towns Competition. We were also highly commended in the Circular Economy section, a testament to all our hard-working volunteers whose dedication and resilience has led to this momentous day, take a bow everyone.

We celebrated our success in the Whiskey Room of the Old Schoolhouse where we were treated like royalty.

A celebratory cake was baked by our very talented volunteer Georgy Hughes who was sure we would win, many thanks Georgy. A massive thank you to Willie and the staff for taking such wonderful care of us as always and making it such a memorable occasion.