Tidy Towns (Ireland) facts for kids

The Tidy Towns logo

Tidy Towns (in Irish: Bailte Slachtmhara) is a yearly competition in Ireland. It started in 1958. The aim is to find and celebrate the neatest and most beautiful cities, towns, and villages.

The competition is for the whole country. Towns that enter must work on several areas. These include having a plan for the future, keeping buildings nice, planting gardens, protecting nature, and controlling litter. They also focus on reducing waste, making homes look good, and keeping roads and back areas tidy.

Judges visit the towns during the summer, from May to August. An independent judge looks at each town. They write a report for each place. This report praises good work and gives ideas on how the community can make their area even better.

The competition covers many parts of the environment. Prizes are given to winners in different categories. There is also one main winner, called "Ireland's Tidiest Town." This big award is announced every September. In 2020, the competition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland. It was the first time this had happened.

Discovering Tidy Towns Winners

Tidy Towns monument in Westport

Moynalty won a Gold Medal in 2006 and later won the overall competition in 2013.

A sign celebrating Adare's win in 1976.

A sign in Lismore showing their 2004 win.

Glenties (Na Gleannta), County Donegal, has won the main award five times.

Many towns and villages have won the Tidy Towns competition over the years. Some towns have won multiple times, showing their ongoing commitment to keeping their areas beautiful. The table below lists the overall winners and category winners since the competition began.

Where are the Winners? A Map View

This map shows where the Tidy Towns winners are located across Ireland. You can see which towns have won the overall prize and which have won in specific categories.