Co. Clare, Ireland — 28 Oct. 2006 — Students, teachers and environmentalists across Clare were honoured today at the Schools’ Environmental Awards 2006 held in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis.

Ennis, County Clare, IRELAND, Oct 28th 2006 – Students, teachers and environmentalists across Clare were honoured yesetrday at the Schools’ Environmental Awards 2006 held in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis. The annual competition, which is sponsored by Clare County Council, attracted scores of entries under various categories that included ‘Environmentalist of the Year’ and ‘School Can Recycling’.

Yesterday’s ceremony commenced with the presentation of seven Clare Environmentalist of the Year awards under separate categories. John Rattigan, Curator of Clare Museum received the award in the ‘History, Genealogy and Archaeology’ category while Paul Larkin from Ennistymon Vocational School was named ‘Young Environmentalist of the Year’. Other category winners included Donough McMahon, Newmarket on Fergus (Giving of Themselves); East Clare Heritage in Tuamgraney (Art and Architectural Design); Yvonne Conway, Kilmihil N.S. (Education); Noreen McGuane, Kilmihil (Nature/Wildlife); and The Byrne Quads, West End, Kilkee (Litter Management). Each award recipient was presented with a perpetual shield, a Hand-crafted Keepsake Clock and a EUR200 cheque.

For the second year running, Carrigaholt National School was named the overall winner of the Schools Can Recycling Award. In recent months, the Loop Head Peninsula School has collected over 1400 refuse bags full of cans. The school was presented with a EUR500 cheque after it finished ahead of Kilshanny N.S. (2nd - EUR350 cheque) and Furglan N.S. (3rd – EUR150 cheque). First prize in the ‘Most Cans Per pupil’ section went to Labasheeda N.S. (EUR350 cheque), Clonanaha N.S. finished second (EUR250 cheque), Tubber N.S. was third (EUR150 cheque), and Clarecastle N.S. and Burrane N.S. finished joint fourth (EUR100 cheque each). Meanwhile, the ‘Best Newcomers Award’ in the same category went to Cloughleigh National School, Kildysart Community College, Cranny N.S. and Ballynacally N.S. Each school was presented with a Repak-sponsored EUR100 craft shop voucher.

Speaking at the Awards ceremony, Deputy Mayor of Clare Cllr. Brian Meaney paid tribute to the enthusiasm of all participating students and schools. “The students and their teachers expressed a real commitment to protecting the environment, which is very encouraging. They are an inspiration to their peers and could teach us all something about being environmentally friendly. They displayed a real depth of understanding of why it was important to protect the environment.”

Commenting on the Awards scheme, Cllr. Patricia McCarthy - Chair of Clare County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee on Environmental and Emergency Services and Consumer Protection Policy – stated, “The Schools’ Environmental Awards are an engaging way for students to learn about their environment and offer them a fabulous opportunity to win a cash prize for their school. I would like to congratulate all participating schools and encourage the students to continue to think about how they, their schools and their families can contribute to safeguarding our environment.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:
- For further information or to arrange an interview please contact Joan Tarmey, Environmental Awareness Officer with Clare County Council on 065-6846205 or email jtarmey@clarecoco.ie.