Killeens, now a tidier town

Killeens Cleanup, April 28

At least 40 volunteer residents from the Killeens area participated in a cleanup of the Killeens area on Wednesday evening, April 28. The groups assembled at the Sunset Ridge Hotel and divided into 5 teams, 4 of whom tackled each of the roads into/out of Killeens and the 5th concentrated on the area just between the southbound N20 junction and the Sunset Ridge. Apart from some light drizzle, the weather was good, and the 5 groups cleaned up approximately 4km of roads and gathered 100+ bags of litter and other rubbish. Apart from "regular" litter, people collected several children's toys, a cooker, a frying pan and grill, multiple hubcaps and building materials waste, all of it illegally dumped right on our doorstep.

Almost two hours of cleaning the community is thirsty work, so volunteers were treated to a complimentary cup of tea / coffee by the Sunset Ridge afterwards, for which we were all very grateful. Once the tea and coffee was finished, it was back home for an urgent shower for most! Sincere thanks go to the Blarney Tidy Towns Committee who generously lent us hi-vis vests, litter pickers, gloves and gave us bags and ties. Thanks also to Cork County Council for allowing us to store the rubbish collected, and of course disposing of it for us. But of course the biggest thanks goes to all the people who came out and made this cleanup a tremendous success.

It was hard work for all the volunteers, but most people felt it was rewarding, sociable and enjoyable. Plus, when people headed off to work the next morning, the view out the windscreen was considerably nicer than it has been of late. The community spirit was very evident on the night, and several people expressed hope that this might be the catalyst to re-establishing the Killeens Residents Association. More about this later, but in any case, another cleanup evening will be planned for about a month's time and hopefully will be a regular feature of the local calendar in the future.

Mark McGloughlin

Photographs of a "cleaner" Killeens the morning after