Ballincollig blooms gold: an Irish town's volunteers win on the world stage

For more than 60 years, the residents, schools and businesses of Ballincollig, County Cork, have planted, swept, watered and planned their town into bloom — pollinator corridors, rainwater harvesting, biodiversity-rich planting. At the 2026 Communities in Bloom awards in Montréal, that patience was named the best in the world for a town its size: 5 Blooms – Gold, Winner of the International Challenge (Medium Category), plus the International Plant and Floral Displays Award. Judges singled out the volunteer committee. Ireland's Tidiest Town of 2024 is now, officially, one of the world's best-kept — by the people who live there.

SDG 11 · Sustainable cities and communities — Mechanism: community action