Mayor honours Ireland's tidiest town Ballincollig

A ceremony was held in honour of Ballincollig Tidy Towns this week, to celebrate the Cork town being the overall winner of this year’s SuperValu Tidy Towns Competition.

The Lord Mayor of Cork Dan Boyle hosted the civic reception on Tuesday, celebrating the town’s 12th time as a gold medalist, as well as being named Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre 2024.

“This award is so well-deserved,” Mr Boyle said. “Ballincollig Tidy Towns is a shining example of community spirit, collaboration, perseverance, and civic pride. They have done fantastic work around greening, fostering biodiversity, and are trailblazers in terms of community climate action.

“Their success is testament to the efforts of an army of volunteers who work week-in week-out, on litter picks, environmental projects, floral and landscaping projects, and much, much more.”

The competition is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development and has been sponsored by SuperValu since 1991.

Director of services at Cork City Council, Rebecca Loughry, said: “This award, and their success over many years, is testament to their fantastic community spirit and great pride of place which is evident for all to see in Ballincollig. Cork City Council is very proud to support and appreciates the dedication and volunteer effort that goes into winning such a prestigious award.

“I also want to thank our teams in City Hall, who work with and support those voluntary efforts.”

The judges, in their report from their visit to Ballincollig, commended all those involved for “bringing together all that is good in a community to create a town that future generations can be proud of”.