THE chances of a small Co Cork village winning a prestigious European competition took a giant step closer last weekend when the head of an 11-man adjudicating panel said he and his colleagues were “very impressed” with what they saw.

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley has praised the annual National Tidy Towns Competition as one of the great Irish traditions “like the All-Ireland.”

TOWNS and villages across the south-east who excelled in this year’s Tidy Towns Competition have been hailed as a shining example to others.

MID-WEST entries are being given a head start in this year’s Tidy Towns competition. A special talk tonight has been organised to give committees from around the region some expert advice on how to clock up winning points.