Beautiful Ballinahown crowned Ireland's tidiest village

The community of Ballinahown is today (Friday) celebrating being named as Ireland’s Tidiest Village at this year’s SuperValu TidyTowns competition.

The village picked up the prestigious award at a ceremony held in Croke Park a short time ago. Ballinahown had been named as one of two finalists for the award along with Geashill in neighbouring Offaly.

Ballinahown also picked up the Midlands & East Regional Award, retained its gold medal, which it won for the first time last year, and was once again named as the Westmeath County winner.

In addition, Ballinahown was 'highly commended' in the Water & Communities Award category.

A citation from the judges, read out by host Marty Morrissey, described Ballinahown as a "beautiful" village and one of which the local residents were rightly proud.

"Ballinahown is a very small village with a very large character," he said.

"Congratulations on your achievements in Entente Floral this year, winning a gold medal and special characteristic award for community. You've put in the hard work, and clearly it is paying off. Well done, Ballinahown, County Westmeath."

The adjudicators described runner-up Geashill as "a beautiful, quaint village with many unique buildings and features... You clearly take pride in your village, and the sense community spirit is strong, where all ages and backgrounds come together to enhance their locality."

Ballinahown Community Development, the community group behind the village’s entry into the TidyTowns competition, was well represented at the awards ceremony in Dublin today.

Ballincollig in Cork was named as the overall National Tidy Towns winner for 2024.

* More to follow...