The mystery surrounding the awarding of the lowest number of points in this year's Tidy Towns competition to a place in Co Sligo which does not exist has been solved.
The Department of the Environment has confirmed that the rating for Mullaghloe, Co Sligo, is in fact for Mullaghroe, a townland in south Sligo which was misspelt by the adjudicator who visited it.
Mullaghroe was not entered by a local Tidy Towns Committee but was among about 130 areas entered by the competition sponsors, Supervalu, in an attempt to encourage more communities to get involved in the competition.
According to the adjudicators' report, Mullaghroe 'lacks a strong identity in the eyes of the travelling public as there are no village name plates and no indication of the existence of a village here'.
The adjudicator gave very low points in all areas including litter control, tidiness and waste minimisation, although the local school was complimented on its appearance apart from the wire mesh on top of the wall.
Overall the adjudicator described Mullaghroe as 'a work in progress'.
