Our Rural Future: Minister Calleary announces Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim as Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2025
-
From: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
- Published on: 24 October 2025
- Last updated on: 24 October 2025
- Carrick-on-Shannon in Co. Leitrim named Ireland’s Tidiest Town and Overall winner of Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town; Carraig Airt, Co. Donegal also wins Gaeltacht Award
- Minister announces €1.5 million in grant aid for almost 1000 TidyTowns groups nationwide
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, today (Friday, 24th October) announced Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim as Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2025.
600 TidyTowns volunteers were present at the SuperValu TidyTowns awards ceremony at Croke Park in Dublin with the event livestreamed to many more online.
This year 929 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.
Carrick-on-Shannon Co. Leitrim was named as Ireland’s Tidiest Town as well as Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town.
Minister Calleary also presented the Gaeltacht Award today to Carraig Airt TidyTowns, Co Donegal. Minister of State Jerry Buttimer presented the Young Persons in TidyTowns award to Corofin TidyTowns, Co. Clare.
Announcing Carrick-on-Shannon as the overall winner, Minister Calleary said:
“I offer my deepest congratulations to Carrick-on-Shannon and all of its TidyTowns volunteers for being crowned Ireland’s tidiest town for 2025.
“This is a wonderful achievement and a special moment of immense pride for Carrick-on-Shannon and indeed the wider county of Leitrim.
“Having consistently entered the competition over the last 40 years, Carrick-on-Shannon’s achievement today continues to showcase all that is good about resilience, innovation, sustainability, community spirit and volunteerism. This is at the core of what the competition is all about.”
The Minister continued:
“The standard of competition was exceptionally high this year in all categories, with a record 929 entries received overall from the almost 1000 active groups nationwide.
“I want to congratulate all the winners today across all the various categories.
“In particular, I recognise the vital role of 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.
“Your passion and commitment is inspiring and 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 Supervalu TidyTowns can be seen, particularly in fostering inclusion, sustainability and community engagement.”
SuperValu has been the competition’s main sponsor since 1991, and today Luke Hanlon, Managing Director of SuperValu, announced the results with Minister Calleary.
Some of the other big winners on the day included:
- Rosscarbery, Co. Cork awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Village.
- Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town.
- Dalkey, Co. Dublin awarded Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town.
- Tralee, Co. Kerry awarded Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre.
The Minister also thanked SuperValu, the competition’s sponsor, adding:
“SuperValu has sponsored the competition for over 30 years and continues to champion sustainability through their supportive network of retailers countrywide. The team has worked very closely with my department to make sure that this competition continues to thrive. Many of our groups have entered the competition consecutively for over 50 years – demonstrating a great example of dedication to their communities.”
Luke Hanlon, Managing Director of SuperValu commented after the awards:
“I want to extend my warmest congratulations to Carrick-on-Shannon on being named Ireland’s Tidiest Town for 2025. This remarkable achievement reflects the passion and commitment of the committee and volunteers. This award is not just a recognition of hard work, but a shining example of what can happen when communities come together with the shared purpose of making their towns and villages better places to live, work, and play.
“As Ireland’s largest retail network, SuperValu is inspired by the phenomenal pride and dedication of more than 30,000 volunteers across 929 committees, who together have given over one million hours to their communities this year alone. It’s heartening to see that 70% of groups have been active for more than 10 years, demonstrating a remarkable legacy of commitment and civic engagement. Not only that, but the initiative continues to attract a wide range of volunteers, with 25% aged between 14 and 45, and 11% made up of students. The commitment of volunteers and our independent retailers, who consistently go above and beyond for their local areas is proof that local action can create real lasting change, transforming our streets and protecting biodiversity.”
Luke Hanlon, Managing Director of SuperValu continued:
“I also want to acknowledge the continued support of the Department, whose partnership and dedication remain central to the success of this programme. At SuperValu, we are incredibly proud to champion TidyTowns, and we look forward to working hand in hand with the Department and local committees for many years to come. To all those who have contributed this year, thank you for your outstanding efforts, you are driving force behind this initiative.”
Minister Calleary also announced a special allocation of €1.5 million in funding to support the work of TidyTowns groups in their continued efforts to make their towns and villages better places to live, work and visit.
Since 2017, the Department has provided over €12 million in funding to support the activities of these groups.
The Minister concluded:
“The focus on sustainability and biodiversity initiatives are particularly impressive and important for us all. The funding from my department will help Groups continue with their inspirational efforts to transform their communities and the local environment.”
The SuperValu TidyTowns competition is organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and sponsored by SuperValu who have sponsored the competition since 1991.
Full details of all this year’s winners are available at www.tidytowns.ie and at www.supervalu.ie
Notes
- Special allocation of €1.5million in funding – Approx. 900 TidyTowns Groups will benefit from the funding of €1.5 million. All groups who entered the competition in 2023, 2024 or 2025 will be eligible to apply for a grant of between €1,000 and €4,000. Pobal, who will be administering the grant on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, will make contact will all eligible groups in due course. The list of all the Tidy Towns groups to receive the funding is available on the DRCDG website www.gov.ie/drcdg and the Tidy Towns website www.tidytowns.ie
- Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2022-2025. The policy’s objectives are being achieved through the delivery of more than 150 commitments to be implemented across a range of government departments and agencies. Economic, social and environmental sustainability is at the heart of Our Rural Future.
- The Town Centre First Policy contains 33 unique actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business. Town Regeneration Officers in all relevant Local Authority areas are being funded by DRCD to drive forward Town Centre First on a local level.
- Further details on all programmes administered by the Department can be found at www.gov.ie/drcdg
About SuperValu:
SuperValu serves over 2.9 million customers every week and has 220 stores nationwide. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 16,000 colleagues, making it one of the State’s largest private-sector employers. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy. SuperValu sources 100% of it is fresh meat and poultry from Bord Bia approved farms and over 1,800 Irish suppliers (Research conducted by Sustineo – September 2024).
Note to Editor re: Naming Rights
The SuperValu TidyTowns competition is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and sponsored by SuperValu. Contained in this sponsorship agreement are naming rights afforded to SuperValu. Any reference in any media form to the competition should be in its full title as;
“THE SUPERVALU TIDYTOWNS COMPETITION”