Raheny Tidy Village Group
Who we are
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The Raheny Tidy Village Group is a volunteer organisation which works to protect and improve the environment of Raheny for the benefit of the residents of Raheny and visitors to our village.
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Our Vision for Raheny
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An attractive, sustainable and well maintained coastal village with a vibrant local community. A village which is a pleasant place to live, work and do business. A place where the needs of all the community are respected. A place where the community can be proud to live and welcome visitors.
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We propose to achieve our objectives by:
Collaborating with local business, Dublin City Council, schools and other voluntary groups in the area on projects to enhance the environment in Raheny Village.
Working on sustainable improvement projects for Raheny. Examples are the rain water harvesting project, leaf composting project, sustainable planting projects, the pollinator project and Santry river survey
Protecting the heritage of Raheny, working to develop Raheny as a tourist destination and by exploiting our location in the Dublin UNESCO Biosphere.
Advocating for Raheny and seeking maximum inputs from local and central government and monitoring the performance of those organisations.
Supplementing the work of the local authority in maintenance of the public realm in Raheny. This would include litter picking, grafitti removal and leaf clearance.
History
In 1992, there was a small group, led by Ann Sheeran, who met informally each Saturday in the Raheny library grounds and tidied the village centre. In 1998, Seamus Griffith became chairman and Con Clarke was appointed coordinator. The group also started a working relationship with the RBA in 1998.
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Some of the key projects we were involved with over the years, and many in conjunction with DCC and the RBA, are:
- developing the bridge over the Santry River
- developing the Rath (cobblestone area in the village centre)
- developing a Community Garden
- relocating the Marie Hayes statue from the bottom of Main Street to the Rath
- erection of 'You are Here' signs in the village
- upgrading the footpaths in the village
- developing the Raheny Way: three looped walks from Raheny Village
- developing of the Heritage trail (in partnership with the Raheny Heritage Society)
- planting in flower beds, hanging baskets and planters in the village centre
- achieving the designation of Age Friendly Village
- restoration of the historic pump at the bottom of Main Street
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In the early, days the group was financed by the DCC and the RBA. From 1998 onwards, the Raheny Tidy Village Group started its own fundraising, doing bag-packs and sending letters of appeal to local businesses. We also receive grants from DCC.
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Seamus Griffith was chairperson until 2019, when John Herbert took over. Frank Nash became chairperson in 2020.
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Tidy Towns Competition and Other Awards
Raheny has entered the national Tidy Towns competition since the 1990s. We won our first bronze medal in 2015, maintained the bronze medal until 2022 and then won our first silver in 2023.
In 2023, we were national winners in the All-Ireland Pollinator plan.
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Raheny village won the 2022 national prize in the Pride of Place awards in the Category Urban Neighbourhood/ Villages over 3000! ​ The IPB Pride of Place awards is an annual all-island competition whereby local authorities from across the island of Ireland nominate groups in their communities who they feel have made a significant contribution to improving their neighbourhood, working collectively.
Over the years we have also won runners up prize for ‘The Raheny Way’ walks in the Tidy Town Special Award for Sustainable Development and Highly Commended in the Water and Communities Award, thanks to all the work we do on the River Santry.
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For more about the Tidy Towns competition, visit the TidyTowns website.
Our Logo
Our logo was designed by Una Healy Design in 2021 and we love it!
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The 'A' in Raheny represents the iconic cottage windows of the Crescent Cottages in the village centre and represents the long history of the village. The graduated blue represents the sea and the simple green branch represents the abundant nature in Raheny.
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