Waterford village named Ireland’s Greenest Place

One of Waterford’s coastal villages has been crowned the overall winner of Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026, a national competition celebrating communities across Ireland.

The judges described the winning village of Ardmore, which has become an environmental hub for the local area, as a worthy winner and the type of place where everyone living in the area actively works together as a community to care for nature and build resilience.

One of the judges, well-known biologist, author and radio presenter Éanna Ní Lamhna, said the number of initiatives and activities the people of Ardmore are involved in is hugely impressive.

“Community-led climate action projects work because they are driven by locals,” she said, “they understand what works best for their unique habitats, and they don’t wait for others to do it for them.

“They get stuck in and as a result everyone is a winner. We have a perfect example of that in Ardmore. The environment, the local area itself and the community are all benefitting because people are pulling together.”

Ardmore’s impressive amount of community initiatives covers a variety of enviornmental and social goals, from their active Tidy Towns group, which restored a stream that runs behind the village’s main street, to GAA grounds, which have developed a large area as a bee, moth and butterfly garden and planted hundreds of native tree around the perimeter.

Another initiative sees goats owned and managed by the village used to keep the furze at bay on the celebrated Ardmore Cliff walk and around the school's playing pitch.

Several local farmers have planted fields with wild bird cover and manage them organically as part of a wider coastal environment protection group and local businesses have attained a reduction in their commercial rates by successfully taking part in Waterford City and County Council's initiative to reduce their carbon footprint.

There is a great uptake in the area in solar panel use, between the roof of the GAA building, the community hall, both primary schools and many private homes, with a solar Meitheal planned for the autumn to encourage further uptake.

“Ardmore shows so well that when an environmentally aware community acts together huge strides can be made in building climate resilience and increasing sustainability,” Éanna Ní Lamhna said.

Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026, an initiative by The Irish Times in association with Electric Ireland, began in late May when members of the public were invited to nominate a special place, project or person who they believe contributes to a genuinely greener environment.

Each of the 90 or so entries were judged on specific criteria, including their beneficial environmental impact, level of ongoing collective engagement by the community and evidence of behavioural change by people. 

Over the last couple of weeks a long list and short list was compiled with the winners announced today, Friday, October 2.

Celebrating the Difference Communities Make, Lisa Browne, Head of Marketing and Customer Insights, ESB, said the initiative showcased the remarkable impact communities can have when people come together with a shared purpose to create a greener Ireland and clean energy future.

“It was a real privilege to be part of the judging panel again this year and to see the work of so many passionate people making a positive difference in their communities,” she said, “The energy, commitment and creativity on display was genuinely inspiring.” 

“Congratulations to Ardmore in Co. Waterford and all the winners, and to everyone who took part. Electric Ireland is proud to support an initiative that celebrates the power of local communities to create a more sustainable future for us all.”