Birdhill is chirpy after 26-year wait for Tidy Town's top award finally ends

A year ago it was Ireland’s tidiest village but this year Birdhill occupies an even higher perch after winning the overall national title of the country’s tidiest town.

The tiny Tipperary village beat 869 other entrants in the annual Tidy Towns competition to take the top spot — the biggest number of entries in the contest’s 59-year history.

Victory was all the sweeter because Birdhill was just one point behind the winner, Skerries, in last year’s competition. It has been named tidiest village on three previous occasions, has won numerous gold medals and county awards, and has a gold medal in the similar, Europe-wide Entente Florale competition.