The community of Mountview in Dublin 15 was honoured at the prestigious IPB Pride of Place Community Awards last Saturday 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.”
