Two Cork locations longlisted for Ireland’s Greenest Places awards

Cork has secured two nominations on the longlist for Ireland’s Greenest Places awards 2026.

This is the second year of the awards, launched by the Irish Times in association with Electric Ireland, inviting people to nominate a special place, person, or project that they believe contributes to a greener environment.

The nominees are Kinsale, which has been nominated in the Greenest Town or Village category; and Rosewood Estate, in Ballincollig, which has been nominated in the Greenest Suburb category.

Both nominees are in contention to win a category award and potentially the overall title in Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026.

Kinsale will go up against Louisburgh and Clogher, from Co Mayo, Cloughjordan Community Development Association, in Tipperary, and Ardmore, in Waterford, in the Greenest Town or Village category.

Ballincollig’s Rosewood Estate will go up against the Bayside Community Orchard and Airfield Estate in Dublin, and Merlin Woods Community Garden in Galway, in the Greenest Suburb category.

The two Cork nominees were among 90 nominations, with Dublin leading the charge on this year’s longlist with six nominations, followed by Wicklow and Galway, with three each.

One of the main aims of the competition is to showcase what can be achieved when people work together to deliver more sustainable and greener communities.

Former environment minister and leader of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan, who is one of the judges for this year’s competition, said the judging panel was very impressed by the quality and diversity of the environmental projects being undertaken around the country.

“It was a real challenge for us to come up with the longlist, and we spent many hours reviewing and debating the entries,” said Mr Ryan.

The shortlist for Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026 will be announced shortly, with the category winners and overall winner announced in early October.