Mountview wins at all-Ireland Pride of Place community awards

The community of Mountview in Dublin 15 was honoured at the prestigious IPB Pride of Place Community Awards on Saturday evening 21 January, held at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road in Dublin. The Community took top spot in the ‘Urban Neighbourhood’ category at the awards hosted by RTE’s Marty Whelan which took place in in front of 400 community volunteers from across the island.

The Pride of Place Judges praised the community spirit amongst the residents of Mountview: “The residents work extremely hard to maximise the value they get from the facilities that are available. They made a very positive and enthusiastic presentation to the judges who were very impressed by what they have achieved to date and their plans for the future.”

Mountview is one of the older urban areas in Blanchardstown. This resourceful community lobbied throughout the 1990s for a state-of-the-art community centre and succeeded after many years. The Mountview Youth and Community Centre is now the hub of this thriving urban neighbourhood. Mountview also has a Family Resource Centre, a Neighbourhood Youth Project and many strong, active community groups such as the Fortlawn Flower Power Community Garden Group.  Mountview Boys and Girls FC is the local football club, and the centre also hosts a group representing the local Kurdish community.

Also representing Fingal on the night were Balbriggan Men’s Shed and Oldtown Community Council, both of whom were praised in recognition of the hugely positive contribution they  each make to their local communities.   

Mayor of Fingal Cllr Howard Mahony said, “I want to congratulate the Mountview community for their win tonight which recognises the fantastic work done by the many community groups in the area. They follow on in the strong tradition of doing Fingal and the Council proud in this competition which recognises the huge importance of the community and voluntary sector in the life of the county”.

Chief Executive of Fingal County Council AnnMarie Farrelly added; “Well done and heartiest congratulations to all the volunteers in the community groups in Mountview who are being recognised tonight. Their efforts as well as the strong support they get from our Community Development Office is crucial to the community wellbeing of the area and creating a place that they can be rightly be proud of.”

Robert Burns, Director of Housing and Community Development said“ I would like to thank the three groups who represented the Council in the Pride of Place Competition in 2022 for all the dedicated work of their volunteers and community workers. In particular I want to thank the community of Mountview, the staff and volunteers of the Community Centre, Family Resource Centre and youth projects who, alongside the residents of the estates made such a huge impression on the judges. Finally I would like to thank our own Community Development Office who work all year round with these communities and support them in their great efforts.”

Sponsored by IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place competition was initiated 20 years ago though a Co-operation Ireland programme to acknowledge the invaluable work undertaken by volunteers and those involved in local community development on all parts of the island of Ireland, north and south. It has grown into the largest competition recognising community development achievements on the island of Ireland.

President Michael D. Higgins, who is Joint Patron of Co-operation Ireland, said the awards played an important role. “The Pride of Place awards are a most important initiative, reminding us that creating societies that are ethical and inclusive is a task for all of our citizens, of all ages and circumstances.”

Pride of Place founder and Chairman Tom Dowling said, "It is 20 amazing years since the very first awards ceremony and the ethos of the awards has never changed. It continues to be about acknowledging and recognising in a meaningful manner the important caring work of all our communities as they continue their daily journey of making the path of life easier for all.”

Fingal County Council will now be seeking out groups to represent the county in the 2023 competition and, should you wish to take part you should contact the council’s Pride of Place liaison officer, Rafe Costigan at [email protected]