Mountrath's Class of 1990 win prestigious National Heritage Council award for Laois

The Class of 1990 Restoration Project has won the 2024 National Heritage Week County Award for Laois following their hugely successful Brigid in Bloom event in Mountrath in August of this year.

The group is made up of past pupils from the Brigidine Convent in Mountrath who work voluntarily to raise funds and awareness to help further the restoration of their old school as the unique community resource that is Bloom HQ.

The great efforts of the group have recently been recognised by The National Heritage Council. Their annual County Awards celebrates outstanding local Heritage Week events, with the top events nominated in each Local Authority Area honoured with the National Heritage Week County Award.

According to the Heritage Council: "These award-winning initiatives excelled in raising awareness of local heritage, engaging their communities and promoting the importance of heritage preservation."

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The award has been welcomed by the Class of 1990, with the organising commenting saying: "We are over the moon that our Brigid in Bloom Day was such a success and we’re thrilled for our work to be recognised with a National Heritage Week Award. 

"We want to thank the National Heritage Council; Thomas Carolan, Heritage Officer, Laois County Council and David Broderick from Creative Laois for their support and encouragement; everyone involved in Bloom HQ; the Mountrath Community Forum; the Brigidine Sisters; the entire Class of 1990; and, most of all, everyone who came along and enjoyed the day!

"It was a pleasure to host, and it’s an absolutely huge honour for us to win."

The day-long Brigid in Bloom event took place on Friday, 23 August and delivered a series of free events all hosted by Brigidine pupils.

Some of these fantastic sell-out events included a kids' art workshop, a gardening clinic, a creative writing workshop with novelist Helen Moorhouse and a concert hosted by singer and performer Trudi Lalor, Effie Neill and Shawn Cuddy.

This Brigidine-centric celebration of the arts, heritage and legacy of the Brigidine Convent in Mountrath served to bring together community members of all ages and interests while also showcasing the incredible achievement to date that is Bloom HQ and to generate interest in future plans for the remainder of the old convent and school complex.