Friday, 21 May 2021
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (21st May, 2021) announced the return of the SuperValu TidyTowns Competition.
The iconic competition was cancelled in 2020 – for the first time in over 60 years – due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
But special arrangements have now been put in place to ensure the return of the competition this year, with the overall winners due to be announced before the end of the year.
The 2021 SuperValu TidyTowns competition will take place in the same format as previous years, albeit with a specific emphasis on electronic entry and remote adjudication of each town’s entry.
Groups should continue to adhere to public health guidelines as they have done so remarkably well since the onset of the Pandemic.
The health and safety of volunteers continues to be paramount.
It is acknowledged that volunteers have not been able to deliver on all of the plans that they may have had for their towns, and the competition adjudicators will be mindful of this fact when assessing entries.
At the same time, many groups have still been very active and the standard of competition is expected to be high again this year amongst the almost 1,000 TidyTowns groups around the country.
Above all, staging the competition this year is a recognition of the extraordinary contribution volunteers continued to make to their communities, even during the Pandemic itself.
For this reason, Minister Humphreys has introduced a new award category aimed at groups that have continued to serve and look after their communities despite the difficulties posed by COVID-19.
The Minister has also introduced a special prize for young people, which was committed to under Our Rural Future – the Government’s ambitious new strategy for Rural Ireland.
Minister Humphreys announced a €1 million fund in December to further support the TidyTowns Groups across the country.
Today, the Minister confirmed that over 800 TidyTowns Groups have now been awarded grants of up to €1,000 under this Fund
Minister Humphreys today formally launched the 2021 SuperValu TidyTowns Competition in Glaslough, County Monaghan – the 2019 winners of the competition.
Further details on the competition and access to supporting resources are available at www.tidytowns.ie