17 July 2019
Numbers of International Green Flag Award Sites have surged in Ireland this year as An Taisce, who manage the Award in Republic of Ireland revealed 60 parks and green spaces that met the standard on the emerald isle for 2019.
Already well known for it’s green credentials, the ‘Emerald Isle’ won more Green Flag Awards than any other country outside the UK.
A new entrant, and winner for the first time in 2019, Maynooth University/Saint Patrick’s College in Maynooth, County Kildare provided this year’s venue for the celebrations. Other first time winners for 2019 include sites from the counties of Limerick and Wicklow, and also Galway and Limerick City.
This year has also seen the expansion of the Green Flag Community Award in Ireland with additional sites in the counties of Galway and Meath being acknowledged for the excellence of their volunteer run community green spaces.
The Green Flag Community Award recognises and rewards community initiatives such as; Community Gardens, Community Parks, and Tidy Towns Projects. In Ireland the coordination of the Green Flag Community Award is made possible by the support of the Department of Rural and Community Development.
Michael Ring, Minister for Rural and Community Development said:
“The Green Flag Community Award is a very welcome addition to the family in Ireland, and I am happy that my Department supports this element of the Green Flag Award scheme. The Award recognises the effort of communities and volunteers and that is what makes it so special. As my Department promotes rural and community development; supporting community level projects like community gardens improves the facilities and attractiveness of these communities. We are facilitating people to take positive control on how their communities develop. The Green Flag Community Award and other initiatives in my Department, like TidyTowns, are valuable in improving the quality of life for people living in rural areas. They also serve to make these communities more attractive to visitors, and in so doing help boost tourism.”
Four of the 2019 Green Flag Award winning parks were also identified by the National Biodiversity Data Centre for an additional Pollinator Project Award. This award is specifically for those Green Flag Parks or Gardens that have made an effort to support the local pollinating insect populations, or to promote their importance. The Pollinator Project Award is jointly run with An Taisce Environmental Education to support the All Ireland Pollinator Plan. Malahide Castle Demesne, operated by Fingal County Council was the overall winner for demonstrating not only pollinator friendly planting and gardening, but also a great effort to educate the public and to promote the benefits through its website and social media.
Robert Moss from An Taisce who manages the Green Flag Award in the Republic of Ireland said:
“In terms of urban renewal, and rural and community development, the Green Flag Award for Parks is a logical and sensible step towards supporting community engagement with green space improvement, and helps increase quality of life within our communities.”
Robert also noted that the Green Flag Community Award is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development because:
“it builds a very constructive conduit for information, knowledge and skill share between the professional and voluntary green space management sectors within our society”.
To download the full list of Green Flag Award winners in the Republic of Ireland click here
To find out more, or apply for an Award, whichever country you are based in, visit and explore:
www.greenflagaward.org
If you know of a park or a country not yet involved in the Green Flag Award that might be interested, get in touch with the Green Flag Award team: [email protected]
