'It's like winning the All-Ireland' – Munster towns and villages clean up at Tidy Towns awards

Ennis, Clonakilty, and Rosscarbery are among the top award winners as Trim in Co Meath took the overall award

Anthony Conlon and chairman Brian Heffernan celebrate with their fellow committee members and Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys and SuperValu/Centra MD Ian Allen after Trim Co Meath was declared overall winner of Tidy Towns 2022 at the SuperValu Tidy Towns Awards. Picture: Naoise Culhane

“Somebody said to me this morning, ‘you know the weather is not good, some of the groups might not make it,’ and I said this is the Tidy Towns you’re talking about, they’re used to all sorts of weather, they’ll be here.”

That’s how Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys summed up the importance of the awards as 750 volunteers from across the country attended the first full-scale awards ceremony since the onset of the pandemic.