Pride of Shannon as town cleans up at the awards

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON has double reason to celebrate after it was named Ireland's Tidiest Town and our Tidiest Small Town.

- BY DANNY DE VAAL

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary announced the winner in Croke Park yesterday.

This year, a record 929 towns were competing for the prestigious awards which have been running since 1958.

Mr Calleary said: “I offer my deepest congratulations to Carrick-on-Shannon and all of its TidyTowns volunteers.

“This is a wonderful achievement and a special moment of immense pride for Carrick-on-Shannon and indeed the wider county of Leitrim.

“Having consistently entered the competition over the last 40 years, Carrick-on-Shannon’s achievement today continues to showcase all that is good about resilience, innovation, sustainability, community spirit and volunteerism.

“This is at the core of what the competition is all about.

“The standard of competition was exceptionally high this year in all categories, with a record 929 entries received overall from the almost 1000 active groups nationwide.