Rathdrum was recognised as the Leinster Regional Runner-up in the in the small (less than 2,000) population category in the Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards 2019.
The gala awards ceremony took place in the Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny on Thursday last (5th December). It was attended by over 500 people along with Minister Heather Humphreys, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Bank of Ireland CEO, Francesca McDonagh.
This is the fourth year of the awards which aims to promote enterprise by bringing business and community groups together in towns and villages across Ireland to showcase the spirit of enterprise in their local area.
The Rathdrum submission was led by a small group of local representatives who were supported by Wicklow County Council and Arklow Municipal District. The very best of what Rathdrum has to offer was showcased to a panel of judges who visited the town on Monday 30th September.
Centra hosted the presentation event where Denis Carter from Avon Motors; Michael Tierney from Tierney’s Pharmacy; Liam Kinsella from Rathdrum Tidy Towns, Bernard McQuaid from Little Dinners and Karen Kennedy, the community representative, all spoke about what the town has to offer.
A number of videos featuring local businesses and community groups were also shown showcasing Rathdrum at its best. The judges then took a tour of the town and included visits to Comerfords Drapery, Hidden Valley and Zoetis.
Cllr Pat Fitzgerald, Cathaoirleach, Arklow Municipal District, who was delighted to attend the Awards ceremony, said: “This is a great achievement for Rathdrum to be recognised as a runner-up at the Enterprising Town Awards for 2019. Rathdrum was spoken highly of on the night, and a great effort was put in by the committee and council officials“.
Cllr Pat Kennedy, who is a member of the committee, stated “This is a huge honour for Rathdrum and follows on from the success of winning the Pride of Place award in 2018. To come second in Leinster is a big achievement. I would like to extend a huge thank you to the committee, the business community, community groups, Wicklow County Council and Arklow Municipal District for all their work and effort to make this possible. It is great to see a competition that brings the community groups and the business together. Well done to all”.
