THE latest tourism triumph for Kinsale was greeted with widespread delight in the seaside town yesterday where a unique co-operative effort has led to so many awards in the past.
Twinned with Antibes in France, and, less exotically, Mumbles in Wales, Kinsale has managed over the years to portray a distinctly French flavour, fusing the exotic aromas from its clever floral displays with the more famous odours from its restaurants members of the successful Good Food Circle.
Kinsale is not interested in hosting late night stag parties and it has restricted the presence of chippers and mobile caterers on its streets.
It has embraced a policy of excellence over the years, which can be seen in its shop fronts, its clean, winding streets adorned with craft shops, and in the general ambience. It is a town to which young people flock in the summer months, but it is also a centre for family holidays with a gourmet flavour. This has led to some traffic problems during the peak season something which the town authorities are trying to overcome with the introduction of a one way traffic system.
Yesterday, Mr Finbar Allison, the Kinsale town clerk, said the news from Belfast of the award was "magnificent".
"It comes on top of many of the awards but it can only be a great boost to the town. I think what makes it so special is that the Tidy Towns Committee has achieved what it has achieved by voluntary effort in conjunction with the UDC and Cork County Council. The volunteers have worked tirelessly over many years and its great to hear of the latest recognition," he said.
The Kinsale scroll of honour reads as follows in 1986, the town was the outright winner of the National Tidy Towns Competition and was the recipient of the European Entente Florale Award. Since then, it has never dropped below fifth place in the Tidy Towns competition, and every year since then, it has been voted the tidiest town in Co Cork.
As well as the recognition of its restaurants in international good food guides, last November the town was awarded the inaugural European Prize for Tourism and the Environment, and now it has been named the Best Kept Town in Ireland.
"We're euphoric," said Mr Peter Barry of Kinsale Tourism one of the names synonymous with Kinsale's modern image "and we're going to give the organisers some reception when they get back from Belfast tonight with the award. Mr Richard Hearne, the town crier, will be out in his regalia announcing the win. The whole place is talking about it. It's fantastic to have picked up the inaugural pan Ireland award for the best kept town after all that's gone before."
Kinsale Urban District Council pays special attention to its parks' and open spaces programme, last year spending £12,000 on planting and maintenance. The street cleaning programme is given the same attention, and over the years a community spirit has grown up which requires everyone to join in keeping up the appearance of the town.
Yesterday, in the crowded marina, yacht sails bobbed in the wind as the colourful pleasure fleet lay at anchor. "No, they are just the usual visitors," Mr Allison replied, when asked if there was something special on.
Normally, the town has a population of some 1,800 people, but on Sundays that number swells to about 8,000 when day trippers join the seasonal holiday makers.
At the Blue Haven Hotel, which won the Egon Ronay Hotel of the Year Award earlier this year, the proprietor, Mr Brian Cronin, said that Kinsale's golden age had arrived and much more would be achieved in the future.
The town's people, the business community and the local authorities, were conscious, however, he added, that development would have to be planned and that careful attention would have to be paid to traffic management.
"I favour more pedestrianisation and less traffic in the centre but to achieve that, we need more off centre parking," Mr Cronin said.
So what makes Kinsale different from any other Irish holiday resort with good restaurants? "Well, you know that the great Irish breakfast is based upon an egg and a piece of bacon. The hen is interested but the pig is committed. That's it. In Kinsale, we're all piggies," Mr Cronin said, adding that so far, the town was enjoying one of its best tourism seasons with a great mix of nationalities.