Kinsale has been named ‘Ireland’s Most Enterprising Town’ at the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Awards 2020, winning €50,000.

This is the first time Kinsale has won the overall award, having taken home the National category award three years in a row.

This year the awards celebrated the many business and community groups who came together to support their local area as they start to rebuild and recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The other awards category winners are Clonbur, Carndonagh, Ballina, Ennis, Newry, Tallaght, New Ross and Tramore.

Awards judges cited the ‘Kinsale Comeback Campaign’ and the efforts of the local community to reopen and regenerate the seaside town after the Covid outbreak.

Initiatives included making PPE visors following a nationwide shortage. Students of Kinsale Community School produced tens of thousands of visors, designed by one of the students and made with a 3D printer. Thesvisors were then distributed free of charge throughout the country to hospitals and care homes.

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When a consignment of masks received by Cork University Hospital from China did not have a sufficient seal, students and staff at the school devised a special clip which effectively ensured the masks were wearable!

Local resident Niamh O'Connell organised a Covid Volunteer Group of 80 people who co-ordinated a sustained effort to support those people most in need.

As the lockdown eased and the economy began to open up, Kinsale Chamber of Commerce launched the Comeback Campaign and enlisted the expertise of global pandemic expert Dr Ian Norton to guarantee the safe re-opening of the town to visitors.

Pedestrianising the town and encouraging on-street dining has meant Kinsale could successfully welcome back visitors to the array of restaurants, activity centres, and retailers in the town.

Guny Patel, chair of Kinsale Chamber, commented: “After a four-year journey we put our heart and soul into the competition this year to tell the story of both the business and community response to the Covid pandemic. Kinsale is truly an incredible town, and witnessing the collaboration and community spirit that took place during this extremely challenging year has been humbling. This is the moral boost and vote of confidence that we needed to face the challenges ahead,” she added.

Pic: Jakub Walutek