The news has been a source of delight for many in the county town and beyond.

    The win is the latest in a line of successes for the town. Enniskillen won the all-Ireland award for best kept large town in 1997 and 1998 and now has once again scooped the award in 2000. The town has also won the Northern Ireland Amenity Council Best Kept awards six times — in 1976, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. Winners of the Northern Ireland award are put forward for the all-Ireland title. Having won the Northern Ireland Amenity Council hat trick from 1995 to 1997, the town was ineligible to apply for the award in 1998. The announcement of this latest award was made earlier this week at the Ireland’s Best Kept Town 2000 ceremony, sponsored by SuperValu, in Hillsborough Castle. Minister for the Environment in Northern Ireland, Mr. Sam Foster and his counterpart in the Republic, Mr. Noel Dempsey TD officiated at the event.

    In presenting the award to the winners at Hillsborough, Environment Minister, Mr Sam Foster said: “As an Enniskillen man I am particularly proud of the town’s achievement. I must emphasise though that I had no say in this decision! I would though like to congratulate all the winners.

    “In these days when we are attracting more and more people to Ireland, both North and South, it is important that visitors get a good overall impression of our towns. We already have a countryside that is second to none, but we need to ensure that our urban areas match this.

    Paying tribute to the Northern Ireland Amenity Council for its part in organising the best kept competition, Mr. Foster said: “Any initiative which contributes to making our towns more attractive both for those who live there and visitors, is most welcome. Even those towns that don’t win gain some benefit from this Competition. Win or lose, our towns will look better, people will be more aware of their local environment, and community spirit will be encouraged,” he said.

    Expressing his unreserved delight at the win, Mr. Rodney Connor, Clerk and Chief Executive of Fermanagh District Council, said: “I think it is absolutely tremendous. All credit to the men who have worked so hard. This really is recognition of this. It shows that their hard work is appreciated not only by the visitors — tourism is very important to the county — but also to the people who live here and I do believe that everyone does appreciate the hard work that they do. The litter pickers, the street sweepers and the people who cut the grass — it all comes together to create a tidy, fresh, natural look”.

    He took the opportunity to encourage those who continue to throw litter to stop. “There are one or two people who still would be inclined to throw litter at a certain distance from the town. Hopefully this will make them appreciate that what they are doing is wrong and try to be part of the effort everyone is making to have Enniskillen at the top,” he said.

    Mr. Gerry Knox, Fermanagh District Council’s Director of Contact Services, said that this award is for all the people of Enniskillen, not just the Council. The award recognises the work of Council employees, shop keepers, the DoE, the Housing Executive and the people of Enniskillen. “It is the man in the street to the housing developments on the fringes of the town. It is an achievement for everyone,” he said.

    Ireland’s Best Kept Awards are organised by the Northern Ireland Amenity Council and by the Republic of Ireland’s Department of Environment and Local Government.

    The overall winner of Ireland’s Best Kept Area is Kenmare, County Kerry which also won the Best Kept Medium Town award. Terryglass in County Tipperary was chosen as Best Kept Village.