Ballincollig is Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2024

Cork has won two major TidyTowns awards today with Ballincollig named Ireland’s Tidiest Town and overall winner of Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre with Ballyphehane TidyTowns winning the Young Person in TidyTowns award for their efforts to address vacancy and dereliction.

This year, 904 towns were competing for the prestigious awards, which has been running since 1958. Over 600 TidyTowns volunteers were present at the SuperValu TidyTowns awards ceremony at Croke Park with the awards announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD.

This is the first time Ballincollig has been crowned Ireland’s Tidiest Town, having previously held the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre in 2018 and 2023.

Minister Humphreys said: “This is a truly great achievement and a special moment of immense pride for Ballincollig and indeed the wider county of Cork.

“Having first entered the competition in the 1960s, Ballincollig 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.”

Lord Mayor of Cork Dan Boyle said: “We are all so proud of Ballincollig and all the Tidy Towns volunteers who have worked so hard over the years to make it one of the most attractive spots to live and work in in Cork.

“The teams have done fantastic work around greening, fostering biodiversity and are trail blazers in terms of community climate action and protecting local heritage. Cork City Council works well with the Tidy Towns teams and everyone in City Hall believes the award is so deserved after years of dedication by the people who live there.”