Gordon Bennet win for Kilcullen

Kilcullen has won a section of Kildare County Council's Tidy Towns Awards programme related to the Gordon Bennet Race, writes Brian Byrne.

It's the first time this particular element has been incorporated into the programme and is open only to towns and villages in Co Kildare which are on the original 1903 Gordon Bennet Race route.

This year six of those communities entered the competition and Kilcullen came out the victor. There's a cash prize for the winning entry.

Kilcullen had a pivotal connection with the race, as it was the first major community on the course. Bardons Hotel was also an important building because some of the competitors lodged there in the course of the competition.

"The award is based partly on how the heritage of the race is maintained in the community, along with the usual Tidy Towns elements," says Noel Clare of Kilcullen Tidy Towns.