Third Tidy Town triumph for Westport

Westport, Co Mayo, won the coveted title for the country’s tidiest town tonight - its third success in the last decade.

Environment Minister John Gormley presented the award at a ceremony at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.

He said: “Westport has been a consistent performer in TidyTowns for many years, winning the overall prize twice already, so I am delighted that they have taken the title in this historic 50th anniversary year.”

The seaside town was a double winner on the night, having earlier picked up the Tidiest Large Town award.

It won the awards for its tree-lined and flower-decorated streets and promenade around The Mall and the banks of the river Carrow Beg.

Other winners were Birdhill, Co Tipperary, which won the village section; Kenmare, Co Kerry, the tidiest small town; and Ennis in Co Clare, which picked up the top prize in the large urban centre category.

This year’s prize-giving marked the 50th anniversary of the competition, which saw 720 towns and villages battle it out for the title.

In its first year, just 52 towns entered the competition.

Westport’s Tidy Towns committee received 15,000 euro for their endeavours.

Also at the ceremony, five-times winner of the Tidy Towns, Glenties in Co Donegal, was presented with a special award marking the town’s contribution to the competition over the 50-year history.

The minister added: “In this 50th anniversary year, I want to pay special tribute to the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who have given willingly of their free time in the last half a century to make their town a better place. They are the real heroes of Tidy Towns.”