Tidy Towns to get two new prizes to recognise community efforts during Covid

Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys at the launch of the 2021 SuperValu Tidy Towns competition in Glaslough, Co Monaghan, with Eoghan Jones, regional manager, SuperValu; Gordon Fleming, Flemings SuperValu, Monaghan; and Louise Duffy, coordinator, Glaslough Tidy Towns, current holders of the National Tidy Towns competition.

Two new prizes in the Tidy Towns completion have been announced to recognise the great efforts put in by communities during Covid and to encourage young people to get involved.

The competition, which was cancelled last year for the first time in more than six decades, has been officially launched by Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys on Friday.

A new category specially aimed at young people has been introduced this year to encourage a new generation to take pride in their locality.

Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys with Eoghan Jones, regional manager, SuperValu.

Speaking in Glaslough, Co Monaghan, which took top prize in the competition in 2019, Ms Humphreys said a second special category for those groups who made particular efforts during Covid to try and "hold together their communities" would be among the awards this year.

"Tidy Towns volunteers are rightly proud of their locality – their efforts make towns and villages the length and breadth of the country better places to live and to visit. 

"For years, Tidy Towns volunteers have shown great resilience and determination – even more so over the past year as our communities came together in the face of adversity," she said.

In recognition of this, we have also introduced a special award to recognise the contribution that TidyTowns groups have made to their communities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including as part of the Covid-19 Community call.

A €1m fund to further support the Tidy Towns groups across the country was announced last December and more than 800 Tidy Towns groups have now been awarded grants of up to €1,000 under this scheme.

Remote adjudication

The 2021 SuperValu Tidy Towns competition will take place in the same format as previous years, but there will be a specific emphasis on electronic entry and remote adjudication of each town’s entry.

Groups should continue to adhere to public health guidelines as they have done so remarkably well since the onset of the pandemic.

Ms Humphreys said: “I am sure the thousands of volunteers around the country are relieved that we have finally reached the point where we can launch the 2021 SuperValu TidyTowns competition and are excited for the months ahead.

She added that many groups have been unable to deliver on the projects they had planned due to Covid-19 but this will not impact in any shape or form on this year’s competition,

"I am encouraging each and every one of the 987 registered groups across the country to enter once again," she said.