Ardmore, Co Waterford, was honoured as the overall winner of Ireland’s Greenest Places at a ceremony in Dublin on Tuesday.
In the second year of the competition, run by The Irish Times in association with Electric Ireland, the seaside fishing village beat competition from about 90 other entries. With a population of just 500, its collaborative ethos was key.
“We’re a small community,” said Henry Murphy, who accepted the award on behalf of Ardmore. “There’s relationships there. The Tidy Towns, the GAA club, the schools – we’re all interlinked.”
Education is central to Ardmore’s operations – building a succession plan for their environmental work by teaching local children what they do. They offer a blueprint for any town or village around the country looking to improve its climate action.
“It’s making that initial start really,” Murphy said. “There’s one or two of us in the village are probably guilty of being addicted to applying for grants at this stage.”
Ireland’s Greenest Places judge and former Irish Times environment editor Kevin O’Sullivan said the victory was well deserved and “the clear verdict of all the judges”.
“It’s that long-term perspective,” added his fellow judge Eamon Ryan, the former minister for the environment. “It takes time to change things, but if you don’t start, [it doesn’t happen].”
[ Ireland’s Greenest Place 2027: the winners in all categoriesOpens in new window ]
The title of Ireland’s Greenest Community went to Treasure the Tolka, a project devoted to cleaning and depolluting its titular river.
Cloughjordan Community Development Association (CCDA) was crowned Ireland’s Greenest Town.
Rosewood Estate in Ballincollig, Co Cork, won Ireland’s Greenest Suburb.
Paul Johnston accepted the award of Ireland’s Net Zero Hero on behalf of his wife, Jacinta Barrins.
Treasure the Tolka, a group founded eight years ago by GP Toby O’Mahony Adams, meets regularly on Saturdays, often in packs of 20.
“I think a lot of people appreciate the river and how important it is, but don’t feel that they can do anything about it because it’s behind a barrier,” O’Mahony Adams said. “Treasure the Tolka has overcome some of those barriers with ladders and with gumption.”
Amid a wide range of green initiatives, Cloughjordan Community Development Association (CCDA) managed to convince 52 landowners to assist in its flagship project, the rewetting of Scohaboy Bog.
“It’s really [about] getting people on board,” said Gearóid Ó Foighil, accepting the prize for the CCDA. “What’s brilliant about this award is this is for all of wider Cloughjordan.”
Rosewood Estate is “an older estate” with a “great sense of community”, according to Dan O’Riordan.
Five years ago, the Rosewood residents’ association set about tackling a two-acre field that had been “unloved, overgrown, ignored” for years. It began by planting a variety of trees, developing the site over time into the thriving wildflower meadow and amenity it is today.
Paul Johnston said his wife Jacinta Barrins’s environmental work revolved around empowering older adults to take meaningful climate action. It was that project – her climate course for over-55s – that kept Barrins from attending the event herself.
“Quite often, the older cohort is a group that really argues. Why should I bother with climate change?” Johnston said. “What motivates her is to try and explain to them why they should be bothered.”
Jillian Saunders, group sponsorship and PR manager at the ESB, said the energy provider was pleased to be involved with Ireland’s Greenest Places for a second year, and thanked the winners for attending the ceremony and sharing their stories.