Cork City doubles its number of green flag parks

Ireland picks up a record 104 awards for its best public spaces

Cork City Council has been awarded four An Taisce Green Flag Awards for Fitzgerald"s Park, Shalom Park, the Regional Park and Douglas Community Park. Pictured with Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Deirdre Forde, at Douglas Community Park for the announcement were representatives from Cork City Council, Douglas Community Association, Douglas Tidy Towns, Douglas Meals on Wheels, and the Grange-Frankfield Men's Shed. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan/OSM PHOTO

Cork City has doubled its number of green flag parks as Ireland picked up a record 104 green flags for its best public spaces.

In what is just its second year involved in the internationally recognised Green Flag Awards scheme, Cork City Council retained its green flags for Fitzgerald’s Park and Shalom Park and was awarded two new ones for the Regional Park Ballincollig and Douglas Community Park, both of which became part of the city following the 2019 city boundary extension.

The judges who visited the Douglas Park paid particular tribute to the partnership that exists there between the city council and the local community association, the tidy towns group, and the local men’s shed group, whose members have built planters for the park’s community garden.

The Green Flag Awards, run by An Taisce’s Environmental Education unit, acknowledges Ireland’s best public parks and gardens and is an international benchmarking standard for parks and green spaces, which aims to encourage the provision of good quality public parks that are managed in an environmentally sustainable way.

Ireland was awarded a record-breaking 104 green flag awards for its public spaces this year, 85 of which were for formal public parks but 19, or almost a fifth, which were for volunteer-led community gardens.

The Regional Park, Ballincollig, has received its first green flag. Picture: Denis Minihane

They are part of a network of over 2,300 public sites in 16 countries around the world that have achieved green flag or green flag community award status.

The areas submitted for consideration are judged by experts who assess each site against eight strict criteria, including environmental management, health and safety, cleanliness, conservation of buildings, landscapes, habitats, biodiversity, horticulture, arboriculture standards, and community involvement.

Lord Mayor Cllr Deirdre Forde said the council was thrilled to receive new green flags this year.

“I am particularly delighted to see that two parks in the recently extended city boundary have achieved such distinction as well, the Regional Park Ballincollig and the Douglas Community Park,” she said. 

“Parks, greenways, recreation facilities and green spaces have never been more needed for both physical and mental well-being by residents and visitors and particularly during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Parks provide places for people to relax and enjoy nature within the busy and bustling city environment.

Stephen Scully, from the council’s parks and recreation department, said receiving four green flags is a testament to the efforts of all parks staff and volunteer groups, who work tirelessly to reach such high standards required by the awards scheme.

“The four Cork City Council parks were independently judged in July and August, and we were today announced as winners. Our green flags will be raised in each park in the coming weeks,” he said.

The council said all of the city’s parks showcase the council’s policy of promoting biodiversity by planting pollinator-friendly plants to replace traditional seasonal bedding, changing grass mowing regimes to increase native wildflowers, the elimination of pesticides for general maintenance, adapting to climate change and involving local communities in biodiversity initiatives.