{"id":504682,"date":"2026-06-17T17:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/504682\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T17:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:45:14","slug":"two-villages-to-represent-ireland-at-entente-florale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/504682\/","title":{"rendered":"Two villages to represent Ireland at Entente Florale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Villages in Co Sligo and Co Louth will represent Ireland in an international competition.<\/p>\n

The Entente Florale Europe, which was established in 1975, aims to promote a greener and more pleasant environment in European towns and villages.<\/p>\n

Riverstown in Co Sligo and Blackrock in Co Louth will take part in the competition following nominations from the Department of Rural and Community Development.<\/p>\n

It is the first time a Sligo village or town has been nominated to represent Ireland in the contest, which celebrates excellence in horticulture, environmental management, and community engagement.<\/p>\n

Six European countries will compete this year, showcasing best practice in sustainable local development across ten different criteria.<\/p>\n

Often compared to the TidyTowns competition, Entente Florale places a strong emphasis on partnership between local authorities and communities in delivering lasting improvements.<\/p>\n

Hugh Kelly from Riverstown Tidy Town Committee said the town is deeply proud to represent Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"Picture<\/p>\n

He said the village’s strength has always come from its people, “volunteers, neighbours and partners who work together to protect our natural beauty and create a welcoming, vibrant place to live and visit,” he said.<\/p>\n

Adjudication will take place on 9 July when international judges will assess landscape quality, environmental sustainability and community involvement.<\/p>\n

Sligo County Council said the nomination recognises the collaboration between Riverstown Tidy Towns and the local authority, in their efforts to enhance the village.<\/p>\n

Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Cllr D\u00f3nal Gilroy said Riverstown’s selection is a tremendous achievement and a source of immense pride for the north west county.<\/p>\n

He said the competition provides an important opportunity to showcase the very best of rural Ireland and of Sligo on a European stage.<\/p>\n

Council Chief Executive Martin Lydon described the recognition as “a testament to the dedication, vision and pride of Riverstown Tidy Towns committee and the wider community”.<\/p>\n

“Sligo County Council is proud to support and work in partnership with local communities, volunteers and stakeholders in achieving these standards of excellence on a European stage,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Villages in Co Sligo and Co Louth will represent Ireland in an international competition. The Entente Florale Europe,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-504682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}