Athlone home is one of the most Christmassy in Ireland!
A house in Athlone, which has long been known for its festive lights display, has been named as a finalist in Energia Ireland’s ‘Most Christmassy Home 2017’ competition.
Tom and Bridie Farrell’s home in Bonavalley, just off the Dublin Road, was listed among the top 20 best decorated homes in the country for Christmas.
Nominations for the competition were accepted up to midnight on Sunday last, and the finalists were announced yesterday (Tuesday).
People can vote for their favourite Christmas home on the Energia Facebook page until 10am this Friday, December 15.
You can vote for the Farrell house on Facebook by clicking here and 'liking' the photo.
The prizes will be donations of €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000 respectively to the charity of choice of the first, second, and third placed houses following the public vote.
When contacted by the Westmeath Independent yesterday, Tom Farrell said he was delighted to be in contention for the award after being nominated for it by his granddaughter.
He said the Christmas lights display had been in place for “seven or eight years” but it then ceased for couple of years as a result of bereavements in his family.
“This year we’ve decided to do the lights because my grandchildren and Bridie wanted to see them put up again,” he said.
He added that the lights are always lit up for the first time at 7pm on December 8, and there was a crowd of “about 300 people” gathered outside to see them being turned on last Friday.
Energia said it chose the finalists for the ‘Most Christmassy Home’ competition based on “decoration design, use of space, festive spirit and wow factor.”
“We’ve been really impressed with the standard of the entries into this year’s competition and it was tough choosing our Top 20,” said Amy O’Shaughnessy of Energia.
The public has until 10am on Friday to choose Ireland’s Most Christmassy Home 2017. All of the prize money from this year’s competition will be donated to the local charities of choice of the winning homes.
The Farrell home was the only house in the Midlands to be included among the finalists.