Today, the shortlist for The Irish Times competition, Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025, is published.
Fourteen entries have made it to the final stage of deliberation, with every entry on this list showing evidence of concrete, widespread action on climate and sustainability goals.
Across categories for Ireland’s greenest suburb, village, town and community, there are stories of very different areas and projects that vary significantly in scale.
Many of the locations have benefitted from truly transformative action, changing both physically and culturally as a result of collaborative green projects.
RM Block
The Shortlist
Ireland’s Greenest Suburb
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin
One of Dún Laoghaire’s key projects is Living Streets, a scheme that involves sustainable mobility and public realm developments.
The aim is to make streets safer and greener, connecting the community and propping up a vibrant local economy. Cycle lanes, enhanced biodiversity and shared public spaces all work toward these goals, as do new bus routes integrated with the Dart and Luas. A draft masterplan for Dún Laoghaire harbour was published earlier this year, building on a proud history of smart urban planning in the area.
Harper’s Island, Cork Harbour
Since green efforts at Harper’s Island began, a huge variety of birds have flocked to the Glounthaune estuary/Slatty Water complex.
Fostering and protecting wildlife is now a key tenet of the area. The wetlands are owned and managed by Cork Co Council in partnership with BirdWatch Ireland, Glounthaune Men’s Shed, Community Council and Tidy Towns. Two birdwatching hides and a 2km nature trail have been developed there.
General and school tours now take place on Harper’s Island, and a counter at its entrance gate revealed that 26,000 people visited the area last year.
Ireland’s Greenest Town
Skerries, Co Dublin
A long list of landmarks offers evidence of Skerries commitment to green initiatives. Among them are a beach toy library, supports for the threatened Large Carder Bee, biodiversity-friendly planters, a water refill station, water butts, a rainwater garden and a pollinator-friendly corridor from Skerries Mills to Ardgillan.
It is all driven by passionate members of this welcoming seaside community. The vast network of local collaborators working toward a greener Skerries includes Sustainable Skerries, the Skerries Community Association, Skerries Cycling Initiative, Skerries Tidy Towns, the Skerries Community Garden, Skerries Autism Friendly Town, Skerries Sustainable Energy Community Initiative.
Killarney, Co Kerry
Under the Sustainable Killarney 2030 Vision, work is ongoing to make Killarney the most sustainable town in Ireland.
One badge of honour for the community is the claim it became the first town in Ireland to eliminate single-use takeaway coffee cups, preventing more than 1.5 million cups (in their estimation) from reaching landfill.
A bee-friendly initiative supports pollinator habitats across town, while the Wander Wild Festival is built around fostering a deep connection to nature. Local businesses are committed to green efforts too, monitoring and reducing their energy use to play their part in a more sustainable future.
Ballina, Co Mayo
Ballina’s green efforts are as extensive as you might expect, given the range of community groups collaborating within the town.
From the Mary Robinson Centre and the Belleek Woods Enhancement Committee to Ballina Boxing Club and Ballina Stephenites GAA, there are many parts that make up the whole. Ballina’s environmental projects include ecological studies and the mapping of 11 petrifying streams and tufa habitats.
A former smuggling ship was sunk at the mouth of the River Moy in Killala Bay last year to create Ireland’s first artificial reef. It has already developed into a biodiversity haven, with a range of fish species.
Ireland’s Greenest Village
Castlegregory/Maharees, Co Kerry
Driven entirely by local volunteers, this community places a huge effort on fostering nature through the planting of native trees and wildflowers, and the protection of insects and rare animals.
Castlegregory, a small village on the Dingle Peninsula, is home to around 350 people, while the Maharees, a 5km tombolo between Brandon and Tralee Bay, has a year-round population of 300 and welcomes an additional 3,000 residents each summer.
The physical environment needs support too. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels are of real concern for the area, but locals have worked to restore their landscape and safeguard it for the future by developing a programme of guidelines for residents and visitors alike.
Inagh village, Co Clare
Public transport improvements have been highly influential in Inagh, where a population of 192 are proving you don’t need a big community to have a positive climate impact.
Bike parking, a new bus shelter and a pedestrian crossing have all enabled a more sustainable transport system. A village biodiversity plan has seen the introduction of solar panels on the hurling club and community hall, and a biodiversity river walk.
With collaborators from ages 10 to 92, Inagh’s green initiatives hinge on the involvement of local school classes, the GAA, the active retired group and Tidy Towns groups.
Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Co Tipperary
Residents of Cloughjordan Ecovillage proudly assert that theirs is the village with the lowest ecological footprint in Ireland.
The story of the 67-acre site goes back as far as the late 1990s, when a group of environmental activists conceived an innovative model for sustainable living. The ecovillage is integrated with nearby Cloughjordan, but functions as its own separate and sophisticated entity.
Embedded in its green ethos are a wood-fired district heating system, events, arts programmes and a culture of car sharing. Professional biodiversity surveys are carried out in the ecovillage and there is ongoing green education instilled in the community.
Louisburgh, Co Mayo
Sitting near the west coast and Clew Bay, Louisburgh is becoming an important hub extending to Clare and Inishturk Islands.
Partners in a trans-EU energy project, the village has facilitated dozens of energy audits and retrofits. It champions carbon sequestration and biodiversity in its woodlands, where mixed native species total 43 acres and more than 40,000 trees, including one project on Clare Island.
On a local level, 96 gardeners in the village swap plants, seedlings and information, while the Louisburgh Free Market WhatsApp group informs a circular economy for its 700 members.
Ireland’s Greenest Community
Coolmine Lodge, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
The story of Coolmine Lodge is a strong advertisement for the intersection of biodiversity and wellness.
This therapeutic centre hosts a six-month residential treatment programme for men working towards an independent life free from addiction. In the urban sprawl of Blanchardstown, the facility is a serene oasis with an ever-growing focus on sustainability and community engagement.
Residents learn about horticulture and nature as part of their recovery plan, growing vegetables for their own consumption or to share with the wider community. Some 600 trees were planted here last year and there is rainwater harvesting. Goats, chickens and a cockerel the men have named Fernando also greet visitors!
Taplin’s Fields (Bridgefoot Street Park Community Garden), Co Dublin
On the topic of green spaces in urban areas, Taplin’s Fields is a shining example. This is the first purpose-built community garden in a Dublin City Council park.
Emerging from the ashes of a derelict dump site set for development, the space was reclaimed by the community who fought for years to protect it, according to local environmental activist Irene Rondini.
On a good day, there may be 30 volunteers working in the garden. Generally, around 15 people congregate to tend to their patch and socialise. Many have no access to a garden or outdoor space, making Taplin’s Fields a sanctuary.
The Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry
More than a million people visit the Dingle Peninsula annually, distancing the region dramatically from some of the smaller communities on the shortlist.
A big area requires big green commitments, and the community here has worked tirelessly to develop projects in energy, transport, agriculture and sustainable tourism, all of which is driven by the Dingle 2030 initiative.
There are three active Sustainable Energy Communities (in tourism, farming and neighbourhood) with 270 members in total; 350 people take part in a lift share group; 10,000 trees have been planted, with 11,00 more planned; and a ReFarm project has 10 family farms exploring low-carbon futures.
Ambrosetown Cemetery, Duncormick, Co Wexford
Though graveyards are ubiquitous in townlands around Ireland, the idea of sacred ground as a green space is a novel one.
Management of Ambrosetown Cemetery in Duncormick, Co Wexford, has shifted from the extensive use of pesticides to control vegetation, to an environmentally friendly method involving the occasional use of a strimmer once flowering plants and grasses have matured and gone to seed.
A number of trees have been donated by Wexford County Council, including yew trees and Irish whitebeam. A beautiful feature is the fragment of the original church building - one remaining wall - which has recently been renovated sensitively. This is a small-scale but very worthy project.
Dysart River Project, Co Westmeath
From 2018 to 2021, the water quality status for the Dysart river was “poor”, according to Westmeath County Council.
Twenty-three farmers in the river’s catchment area were central to changing that. In a collaborative effort with Local Authority Water Programme scientists and Teagasc experts, the river, which feeds into Lough Ennell, has had its water quality restored.
One issue from an agricultural point of view was the location of cattle access points along the river. With the community wanting to protect and improve its amenity, solar-powered cattle drinkers were put in place on farms.
The Irish Times Ireland’s Greenest Places competition is in association with Electric Ireland.
