Killarney has climbed impressively to fourth place in the Irish Business Against Litter League table.
The town has rocketed up the rankings in no uncertain terms and the competition adjudicators in An Taisce described it as “an excellent result”.
While Tralee has slipped back to 28th place and was branded “moderately littered”, Killarney moved from 14th place last year to fourth overall and was deemed cleaner than European norms with only Nass, Kilkenny and Monaghan town finishing higher.
The judges were particularly impressed by the town’s decision to outlaw disposable coffee cups and they said it was perplexing that other towns have not yet followed suit.
The litter league assessment team was particularly impressed by the presentation of the car park at Killarney Outlet Centre, the green area off St Margaret’s Road and Rock Road and Main Street which was well presented and maintained.
The added that there were no heavily littered sites surveyed in Killarney and all of the Killarney locations visited by the IBAL team received an A grade with one exception.
The area around the deposit return scheme location at Lidl was described as “grubby” and it warranted only a B grade.
Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce President and Tidy Towns campaigner, Johnny McGuire, said he was “overjoyed with such a brilliant overall result” and he said it was a great start to 2025 from a Tidy Towns perspective.
“The credit for this great performance goes to Killarney Municipal District Council whose outdoor crew constantly plays a blinder,” he said.
“The policies and decisions that are made in the town hall in relation to street cleaning and maintenance policies are really paying off and they deserve our thanks and our praise,” he added.
“We must now build on this and we all look forward to plating our part in the Killarney Looking Good Competition and the push for Tidy Towns honours.
WHAT THE IBAL JUDGES SAID
Dr Hans Liebherr Road: Grade A. This attractive route creates a very positive first impression of Killarney and this high standard was sustained for all, bar one, of the remaining sites surveyed. There was minimal litter throughout and Cleeny Roundabout was an attractive and welcoming one.
Deposit Return Scheme, Lidl: Grade B. There were too many items, not associated with the deposit return scheme on the ground in the immediate vicinity of the facility for the top litter grade. The ground surrounding the facility was somewhat grubby, perhaps due to customers emptying the surplus contents of their containers on the ground.
St Margaret’s Road L3912: Grade A. There was a virtual absence of litter along this tree-lined route, with heavy autumnal leaf-fall underfoot. Overall impression was a very positive one.
Open space off Rock Road/St Margaret’s Road: Grade A. A lovely expanse of greenery with recent planting and enhancement works – all aspects were in very good order and a virtual absence of litter throughout. Hopefully, the damage to the grass due to the recent works is only a temporary issue.
Car park at Killarney Outlet Centre: Grade A. All aspects of this car park were freshly presented and maintained, e.g. car park surface, signage associated with the use of same, paved areas etc. Perimeter planted areas appeared in good order. It was spotless throughout.
Main Street: Grade A. There were some lovely features along the Main Street: attractive paving, large wooden planter boxes, tree planting and well-presented shopfronts. Apart from some cigarette butts, there were no other obvious litter issue.
Glebe car park: Grade A. The recycle facility has been moved with clear signage indicating a €3,000 for illegal dumping. Despite plenty of cars within the car park (practically full) there was no visible litter.
Well Lane South: Grade A. While there was significant graffiti on several different surfaces (some of which had been painted over), there was no litter issues with litter along this narrow laneway – the rear of several businesses. Clearly it is getting plenty of attention as there was a virtual absence of litter.
Muckross Road: Grade A. There was minimal litter, just some occasional food-related items, dog fouling and cigarette butts on a long stretch of approach route. The overall impression was a very good one and scored well considering how busy it was.
Tiernaboul Industrial Estate: Grade A. It is unusual to have an industrial estate located amongst such lush vegetation/tree growth – a lovely environment, which was very well maintained. It was spotless throughout, a credit to the users and those responsible for the maintenance of same.
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