Loughgall in Co Armagh, which 11 years ago was the scene of violent death and tragedy, yesterday had reason to celebrate in more peaceful times. It was awarded the overall title of Ireland's Best Kept Town and Best Kept Village in the cross-Border competition.
The small town, near Armagh and Portadown, had achieved the criteria relating to presentation of buildings, appearance of approach roads, streets and public facilities, presentation of open spaces, village greens, gardens, private frontages and tidiness.
While Loughgall won the overall prize, the award for Best Kept Small Town went to Adare, Co Limerick, and the Best Kept Large Town award was won by Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.
The peace of the community of Loughgall was shattered in May 1987 when eight IRA members were killed as they were intercepted by waiting security forces. The eight armed men planned a bomb attack on the RUC station. An innocent passing motorist also died when caught in gunfire, and four other people, including two RUC members, were injured by gunfire.
Yesterday in Belfast, people from North and South gathered in Parliament Buildings for the awards ceremony. The winners of the all-island competition were announced in the presence of environment ministers from Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The Best Kept Towns competition is organised by the Northern Ireland Amenity Council and the Republic's Department of the Environment.
It brings together the top centres in the Tidy Towns Competition, which the Department organises in the South, and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council's Best Kept awards.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said that, on the scale of recent events on this island, what they were marking might be regarded by many as a relatively minor event. "But there was a time not so long ago when an event such as this could not have been considered," he said.
"The all-island dimension has, I believe, enhanced both competitions, and perhaps we should be looking at ways it could be further developed in the years ahead," Mr Dempsey said.
The Northern Ireland Environment Minister, Lord Dubs, said the work of the amenity council and the Department of the Environment in Dublin in organising the competition deserved much praise and he welcomed the contacts and friendships which had been fostered between communities North and South.