New Longford sculpted biodiversity bench is unveiled

There was delight locally when a 'wonderful' sculpted wooden biodiversity themed bench was recently unveiled by the beautiful banks of the River Shannon in Ballyleague and dedicated to past, present and future TidyTowns members.
The bench was put on display for the first time during a special ceremony by the promenade on Sunday, October 5 to recognise the group's commitment and dedication to the environment and biodiversity.

The meticulously crafted sculpture was commissioned by Ballyleague Tidy Towns and committee members Gerry Trimble, Eileen Poested, JP Kilclyne, Gerry Trimble, Pat Kilclyne, Dottie Fox, Margaret Thompson and Grainne Egan were present for the ceremony alongside local MEP Ciaran Mullooly.

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The sculpture was created by Tommy Keenan from Chainsaw Carvings, Cong, county Mayo and his work was praised by TidyTowns chair Gerry Trimble.

Mr Trimble described it as a meticulously crafted sculpture and he stated people would “be awestruck by the craftsmanship” of Mr Keenan.

He stated a feature for the Shannon banksuch as planting a tree was suggested some time ago to Ballyleague Tidy Towns by Ciaran Mullooly and the committee put their heads together and decided to use a fallen tree from one of the recent storms.
Ballyleague TidyTowns subsequently contacted Mr Keenan, a chainsaw carving expert work his magic on a seat for the area and the result was the ‘Biodiversity Seat’.

Mr Trimble said it is a wonderful addition to the beauty of the area and it is sure to draw huge attention.

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"The committee is deeply grateful to everybody that helped in any way, no matter how small a part they feel they played in making this project come to fruition."

The seat includes images of a butterfly, an otter, a ladybird and a bee and it was financially supported by Ciaran Mullooly and Roscommon County Council Municipal District fund and Ballyleague Tidy Towns and the committee said everybody in the community "must express our huge gratitude to every one of them for this wonderful creation".