LIVING IN MOYNALTY, Co Meath? Then congratulations, because your home is in Ireland’s Tidiest Town.

The results of the 2013 SuperValu National TidyTowns competition were unveiled today in The Helix in Dublin, and Moynalty was named best of the 832 towns and villages that entered this year’s competition.

Moynalty wins a trophy plus €10,000.

The judges said that litter control is excellent in Moynalty, that its initiatives for the management of waste and resources is impressive, and that is “a beautiful village where the quality of life seems to be life-enhancing”.

They even said that it was a “genuine pleasure” for the second round adjudicator to visit the town once more.

Phil Hogan, TD, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, the competition’s sponsor, handed out the prizes.

As well as the overall prize, Moynalty also claimed the award of Ireland’s Tidiest Village.

Other winners included:

• Kenmare, Co Kerry: Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town (trophy plus €5,000)
• Killarney, Co Kerry: Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town (trophy plus €5,000)
• Ennis, Co Clare retained their title as Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre (trophy plus €5,000)

Towns were also awarded special medals in different categories, county awards, and regional awards.

The regional awards were given to Skerries (Dublin); Ennis (Midwest); Moynalty (Midlands and East); Letterkenny (North West); Kilkenny (South East); Killarney (South West) and Westport (West).

(MoynaltyTidyTowns/YouTube)

Minister Hogan said that this is a fantastic achievement for Moynalty after 53 years in the competition, describing the town as “a really worthy winner”.

He said he is “always impressed by the ambition and enthusiasm of all those involved in the TidyTowns effort”.

It is clear that working together, getting to know your neighbours, and getting things done increases peoples’ pride in where they live and helps to build vibrant communities.

The number of entries for SuperValu TidyTowns exceeded 800 each year for the last three years.

This year, communities were encouraged to ‘Help their communities shine’ in a promotional campaign by the Department of the Environment, which organises the competition, and longtime sponsor SuperValu.

Read: Do you live in Ireland’s tidiest town?>