Ballinahown is Ireland’s Tidiest Town as well as Tidiest Village

Westmeath community celebrates at Croke Park

John Donohoe

Published: Fri 23 Oct 2026, 4:38 PM

Last updated: Fri 23 Oct 2026, 4:43 PM

Ballinahown, Co Westmeath, was today announced as Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2026 by the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary.

Over 600 Tidy Towns volunteers were present at the SuperValu TidyTowns awards ceremony at Croke Park in Dublin as the event was also livestreamed to large online audience.

This year 936 towns were competing for the prestigious awards, demonstrating the continuing huge national interest in the SuperValu TidyTowns competition which has been running since 1958. This is the highest number of entries ever received in the competition’s history and shows the competition’s reach within communities across the country.

Minister of State, Jerry Buttimer; along with (4th from left) Margaret Barron, Musgrave; Aoife Farrell, Ballinahown TidyTowns, ; Minister Dara Calleary; and John Dolan, Ballinahown TidyTowns, Co Westmeath; and committee members of Ballinahown, Co Westmeath who were crowned winners of Ireland’s Tidiest Town 2026 at the awards ceremony at Croke Park. Photo by Naoise Culhane

Minister Calleary announced Ballinahown, Co Westmeath, as Ireland’s Tidiest Town as well as Ireland’s Tidiest Village. He also presented the Gaeltacht Award today to Carraig Airt, Co.Donegal.

Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Jerry Buttimer, presented the Young Persons in TidyTowns award to Dromiskin, Co Louth.

Minister Calleary said: “Having consistently entered the competition over the last 40 years and winning the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Village in 2024, Ballinahown have finally achieved their goal of winning the competition outright. This achievement today continues to showcase all that is good about resilience, innovation, sustainability, community spirit and volunteerism. This is even more impressive given the fantastic results the village has achieved over the last three years with a population of just 160 people. This dedication is at the core of what the competition is all about.”

Minister Dara Calleary; Robbie Quinn, Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and Margaret Barron, Musgrave; along with committee members from Abbeyleix Tidy Towns who were named IIreland’s Tidiest Small Town 2026 at the awards ceremony at Croke Park.

The minister continued: “I want to congratulate all the winners today. The standard of competition was exceptionally high this year in all categories, with a record 936 entries received overall from 1,000 active groups nationwide.

“In particular, I recognise the vital role of TidyTowns volunteers across the country who are working so hard all year round to ensure our communities are vibrant, sustainable places to live, work and visit. The passion and dedication of these volunteers is the embodiment of everything that is good in our communities.

“Investment in our communities through this wonderful competition reaps long-term rewards for all, as showcased by the winning groups here today. The impact of the Supervalu TidyTowns competition is clear to see, particularly in fostering inclusion, sustainability and community engagement.”

The main category winners announced today are:

Ballinahown, Co Westmeath awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Village.

Abbeyleix, Co Laois awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town.

Buncrana, Co Donegal awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town.

Tralee, Co Kerry awarded Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre.

Minister Dara Calleary, Brendan O’Brien, Tralee Tidy Town; and Margaret Barron, Musgrave; along with committee members from Tralee Tidy Towns who were named Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre 2026 Photo by Naoise Culhane

SuperValu has been the competition’s main sponsor since 1991, and today, Margaret Barron, chief marketing officer at Musgrave, announced the results with Minister Calleary. Full details of all this year’s winners are available at www.tidytowns.ie and at www.supervalu.ie