THEY mow 46 acres of grass, tidy and care for 17.5 kilometres of walkways and still find time for planting flower beds, painting walls and making Kilmallock a beautiful place to live and visit.
They’re the 25 Kilmallock Community Employment workers and their supervisor, Max Hennessy, says each and every one of them is “fiercely proud” of the town.
“We’ll be flat out now,” Max told the Limerick Post. “There’s always something to do and there’s always something new or different. It makes the work very interesting,” he said.
Referred to affectionately as “the lads” the workers who lend their skills to improving the fabric of Kilmallock are not, in fact, all ‘lads.’
There are women in that mix, one who works on the outdoor projects and others who turn their talents to clerical work in clubs, offices and public services like the Citizen’s Information.
The Community Employment workers also look after the public spaces on the council estates and the public parks as well as turning their attentions to the new Bruree walk.
“Every one of the people on the scheme has an interest and pride in the work. The lads involved with sport are usually the ones who look after the sports grounds and the ones who live in the town have an interest in seeing it kept well,” said Max.
“There’s also a huge potential within the scheme for training and for people to learn new skills,” he added.
But wherever they are from, there is broad agreement that Kilmallock never looked better and the town is well placed now to welcome tourists who come the see the huge wealth of historical attractions the area has to offer.
