Passing of Sean Leahy

KKB are very sad to announce the passing of Sean Leahy.  Sean was a former  Chairman  and founding member  who  worked  tirelessly over many years for the improvement of  Kilkenny city  as a wonderful place to live.

Present and past KKB members formed a guard of honour   as a mark of respect at St Patricks Church   on the  28th March 2023 as Sean passed  to go to his final resting place at Foulkstown cemetery, Kilkenny.

Leahy, Sean (1 Ashleigh Court, College Road, Kilkenny) on 25th March 2023, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny, after a long period of ill-health borne with humour and fortitude. Predeceased by his brother Christy. Beloved husband of Betty and much loved father of Johanna, John and Conor. Sean will be sadly missed by his wife and family, son-in-law Jesper, daughters-in-law Margaret and Anna, his adored grandchildren Caoilin, Erin, Aidan, Isobel and Freya, his dear siblings Phyllis, Mary, Willie and Joanne, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended family, neighbours and a wide circle of friends.

May Sean Rest in Peace.

 

KKB & St Patrick’s Parade 2023

What a wonderful day for Kilkenny. What  a great parade!

Fantastic day. Despite the weather there was so much good spirits and camaraderie. So many kids along the route saying to their parents they had Picker Pals in their school.

A thank you to Picker Pals working  to raise awareness of Keep Kilkenny Beautiful  .

Thank you so much the to fantastic volunteers and their children that made the effort to come out in the bad weather and showed how tough we are and how determined to Keep Kilkenny Beautiful

👏👏👏👏👏

you are all amazing

👏👏👏👏👏

.

IBAL – Kilkenny City Joint 2nd in 2022

A fantastic result for Kilkenny City in  2022.  This is    a reflection  on the tremendous work undertaken by  our volunteers, our community, our businesses  and  Kilkenny CoCo.  Congratulations also to Naas who took the  No. 1 position in 2022.

An Taisce Report – IBAL Anti-Litter League, Survey 2, 2022
Kilkenny: Joint 2nd out of 40 towns / cities surveyed. Cleaner than European Norms.
Kilkenny is no stranger to high placement in IBAL litter league and this time around it has scored particularly well with nine out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade. Examples included the approach roads, Kilkenny Train Station (Exterior and Interior), the Main Street / Parliament Street and Market Cross Shopping Centre – there was lovely paving at the latter. The only blemish was the Recycle Bank at St. Canice’s, which was moderately littered.
N10 Approach Road: Grade A. Road surface / markings / signage were in very good order and the overall impression was of a very well presented and maintained route with no litter issues of note.
Kilkenny Train Station – Exterior: Grade A. The overall impression here as a very positive one with paving to the front of the station creating a very fresh impression. There was minimal litter, just some loose food related items and cigarette butts in the shrubs of the bushes in the garden patch and at the base of the litter bins.
Kilkenny Train Station – Interior: Grade A. A sparkling interior with spotless floor tiles, seating, litter bins and visitor information notices in very good order.
River Bank: Grade A. A lovely riverside environment which was very well presented and maintained. The pedestrian bridge was spotless. There was a virtual absence of litter along the grassy banks and associated pathways.
Derelict building by Evans Lane: Grade A. Clearly a careful eye is kept on the tall building as there was no litter directly associated with it.
Recycle Bank, St. Canice’s: Grade B. The recycle units and signage associated with the use of same were freshly presented and in good order. It wasn’t just loose litter, but items had been very deliberately discarded by the units.
Market Cross Shopping Centre: Grade A. The paving of this outdoor shopping environment was particularly attractive and creates a great impression. It was a very freshly presented and clean environment.
Main Street / Parliament Street: Grade A. This was characterised by lovely paving, planter boxes, wooden seating, stainless steel bicycle parking and some attractively presented shop-fronts. There was a virtual absence of litter throughout.
696 Freshford Approach Road: Grade A. All aspects of the area surveyed were in good order – there was no visible litter throughout.
R712 Approach Road: Grade A. (by Leggetsrath Bus. Park) A wide stretch of road with lovely tree planting along both sides. It was excellent with regard to litter, creating a very positive first impression of Kilkenny – this very high standard was sustained for all the remaining sites surveyed

New Years Resolution – KKB

How about making a New Years resolution  to Keep Kilkenny Beautiful and get involved with our Community  in Kilkenny

Why not meet and join with our volunteers  this Saturday 7th Jan at 10 am at  the Kilkenny retail Park Loughboy carpark in front of Woodies. Coordinates ( 52.635366, -7.244313 ).  Take part on  our first clean up for the new year.  Tea/Coffee and chat follows at 12.00 noon.

We look forward to seeing you, we also have a lot of other activities taking place,  please also keep up to date  by reviewing  our  facebook page or email us at mail@keepkilkennybeautiful.com  . Why not join our KKB news whats app page.

Energy Expo 2022

 

Keep Kilkenny Beautiful host its first ‘Energy Expo’

KKB have coordinated with  Kilkenny Sustainable Energy Community  the  2022  Kilkenny Energy Expo which is to take place  27th November 2022,   2-5pm at  St. Canice’s Community Hall, Butts Green Kilkenny.   All are welcome.

Keep Kilkenny Beautiful are running the first of what they hope we will be regular range of  events, to help people learn about how to reduce energy bills and improve the comfort of our homes.

Earlier this year as part of their work on entering the Sustainable “Doing More with Less” category in the National Tidy Towns Competition, KKB  set up the first Sustainable Energy Community in Kilkenny city. With support from the South East Energy Agency and mentor Therese Curran,  KKB have launched  the first ‘Energy Expo’ in Kilkenny, to help citizen learn how they can reduce their bills.

A number of our  KKB volunteers, who have made changes themselves, had noticed how there was a lack of accurate information about retrofitting, EV’s and other measures that can really make a difference to the bills we all face. With the support of Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, the  ‘Energy Expo’ was  launched.

The aim of this event is  help people discover on a practical basis how they can save on energy by availing of grants for insulation measures or solar panels.  St Canice’s Credit Union will be on hand to explain how they can help customers to bridge any shortfall on the cost. Some citizens are entitled to a free energy upgrade and group members will be available  to advise on how to apply.

There will be some providers of services  at the event to advise people what can be done and what is involved in terms of the work and timelines. KKB Chairperson noted:-

“We will have people to chat to, who have first-hand experience taking some of these new steps, experts from SEAI to give a talk and information on how to set up your own SEC in order to avail of a free Community Energy Plan for your community”.

Come along for a chat and free information from fellow citizens about how to cut back on bills this winter on 27th Nov 2-5pm in St Canice’s Community Centre, Butts Green, Kilkenny.

 

Savour Kilkenny 2022

Savour Kilkenny  has been attracting many visitors  notwithstanding the changeable weather this year. This is an official green festival through waste minimisation and also increasing  environmental awareness for stall holders and the many visitors  attending  the festival this year. Stall holders as part of the Festival Green charter have  pledged to minimise waste and reduce water and energy consumption.

Local apples are being  pressed. there was   great crop of fruit this year in Kilkenny

Congratulations to St Brigid’s camogie Club Kilmanagh who have volunteers to assist with Keeping Kilkenny Beautiful during the event

Bolt electric bikes are now available for rent  through out our city