Nearly 900 towns countrywide competed this year for the prestigious TidyTowns Awards.
Abbeyleix in Laois has been named both Ireland’s Tidiest Town and Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town for 2023.
The ceremony for this year’s SuperValu TidyTowns Awards took place on Friday (6 October) at Croke Park in Dublin and saw 887 towns across the country competing to be honoured.
First held in 1958, the awards aim to shine a spotlight on the tidiest and most attractive areas in the Republic of Ireland.
This is the first time the Laois town has been crowned Tidiest Town, having first entered the competition in 1960.
Some of this year’s other big winners included:
- Geashill, Offaly – awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Village.
- Killarney, Kerry – awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town
- Ballincollig, Cork – awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre
Abbeyleix also landed the Tidiest Small Town title at this year’s awards ceremony!#SuperValuTidyTowns23@AbbeyleixTidy @SuperValuIrl
— TidyTowns Ireland (@TidyTownsIre) October 6, 2023
The tidiest town in Ireland for 2023 has been crowned
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys also presented a new award to the Cappoquin, Boyle and Ballyshannon TidyTowns groups.
This was to recognise their “tremendous efforts to address vacancy and dereliction in line with the Government’s Town Centre First policy”.
Announcing Abbeyleix as the overall winner, Humphreys said: “This is a truly great achievement and a special moment of immense pride for Abbeyleix and indeed the wider county of Laois.
“Having first entered the competition in 1960, Abbeyleix today continues to showcase all that is good about innovation, sustainability, community spirit and volunteerism. This is at the core of what the competition is all about.”
“As always, the standard of competition was extremely high this year in all categories, with 887 entries received overall.
“I want to pay tribute to all the winners today across all the various categories.
“In particular, I want to recognise the vital role of TidyTowns volunteers across the country who are working so hard all year round to ensure our communities are vibrant, sustainable places to live, work and visit.
“You are truly an inspiration, and the embodiment of everything that is good in our communities.”
The Minister also announced a special allocation of €1.5 million in funding to support the work of TidyTowns groups in their continued efforts to make their towns and villages better places to live, work and visit.
“The focus on sustainability and biodiversity are particularly impressive and important for all of us,” Humphreys added.
“The funding from my Department will help groups continue with their inspirational efforts to transform their communities and the local environment.”
Full details of all this year’s winners are available at tidytowns.ie and on SuperValu’s website.
Main image via RollingNews.ie and Twitter/TidyTownsIre
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