It has been announced that Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim has been named the overall winner of the SuperValu Tidy Towns competition.
The town also earned the small town title, with areas in Cork, Dublin and Kerry also taking home awards.
Dalkey in Co Dublin was named Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town, Rosscarbery in Co Cork is Ireland’s Tidies Village, while Tralee in Co Kerry was named the Tidiest Large Urban Centre.
The competition has been sponsored by SuperValu since 1991, but has been organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht since its inception in 1958.
This year, a total of 929 towns took part in the initiative, the highest number of entries in its history, with Minister Dara Calleary thanking the 30,000 volunteers who had served their communities all year in all weather conditions.
Each of the towns entered is independently assessed by a panel of adjudicators through an anonymous judging process which takes place in the summer months (June-August).
The towns are evaluated across eight specific criterias, which includes community involvement and public spaces to sustainability, biodiversity and litter control.
There’s a total of 550 marks available, and the category awards honor the top performers in the village, town and urban centre sections.
There are also additional awards for island and Gaeltacht communities, with 220 prizes awarded in total.
There’s around €270,000 awarded in the main categories, and €70,000 in special prizes given out.
