Birr makes it to finals of Ireland's Best Kept Town competition

The heritage town of Birr was one of the finalists in the prestigious Ireland's Best Kept Town 2022 competition, the winners of which were announced today (Tuesday).

Birr was pipped at the post in the small town category by Abbeyleix in county Laois, which scooped the title of Ireland's Best Kept small town.

Enniskillen in county Fermanagh emerged at the overall winner of the all-island competition, and was also named as Ireland's Best Kept large town.

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council initiated Ireland’s Best Kept Towns competition in 1995.

The objective was to help raise the profile of both the SuperValu TidyTowns and Northern Ireland's "Best Kept" competitions, and improve the appearance of towns and villages across the Island.

All entrants were marked against strict adjudication criteria that included cleanliness, the outward appearance of buildings, the presentation of roads and public facilities and the natural environment.

Speaking at the awards ceremony in the Titanic Hotel, Belfast,where she congratulated the winners and the finalists, Minister Heather Humphreys said The All-island Best Kept Town Competition "recognises the great pride people have in their own communities all across the island."

She pointed out that the competition marks 25 years of "cross border collaboration, partnership, and most importantly, friendship”and lamented the fact that it was not possible to hold the event for the past two years due to the Covid pandemic.

"However, that did not stop the tremendous effort put in by community groups across the island. Even during lockdown, towns and villages were maintained and volunteers all across the island continued to put in a huge effort on behalf of the places where they live" said Minister Humphreys "being nominated for these awards represents an achievement in itself, and is recognition of the efforts made by volunteers and local communities in the SuperValu TidyTowns competition and the Best Kept competition in Northern Ireland.”

Doreen Muskett, MBE, President of the Northern Ireland Amenity Council, which organises the Best Kept Awards, said "throughout the pandemic thousands of volunteers and gardening enthusiasts kept our towns, villages and the country looking its best. These awards illustrate and emphasise how much voluntary work is undertaken to keep our Towns and Villages throughout Ireland beautiful and how the community works together to make where they live desirable. These awards create links between community involvement, our natural environment and our wellbeing, helping us to recognise the value of our biodiversity and coming together to play our part in making our own parts of the country places we are proud to call home”