Birr Town Council scoops national award

A riverside walk in Birr has won the "Best Public Park" category in this year's Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) Awards. The Camcor Park entry by Birr Town Council was one of 23 winners announced on Saturday at a ceremony hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan and attended by over 400 people. The big winner at the 2013 awards was children's hospice LauraLynn House, which scooped the top "Grand Prix" award for excellence as well as the top spot in the "Best Healthcare Building" category. First held in 2006, the LAMA Awards were created to recognise innovative local and national projects in areas including infrastructure, community development, recreation and social impact. Other winners at this year's competition included South Dublin County Council as "Council of the Year", Andrew Connolly from Dublin Civil Defence as Tetra Ireland "Best Emergency Response Volunteer of the Year" and Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann as "Best Community Based Initiative". Commenting on the awards chairman of sponsor IPB Insurance Group George Jones said a very high standard of projects and initiatives were served up, which is a testimony to the work being done by local authorities and their communities. A full list of LAMA winners will be available in this week's Offaly Independent.