Dublin has secured six nominations on the long-list of Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026

Dublin has secured half a dozen nominations on the longlist of Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026 and as a result all six are in contention to win a category award and potentially the overall title of Ireland’s Greenest Place 2026.

It’s the highest number of nominees by any county, and twice the number secured by Galway and Wicklow who sit in joint second place with three nominations each.

Two of Dublin’s nominations are in Ireland’s Greenest Suburb and they are Bayside Community Orchard and Airfield Estate in Dundrum.

Just four suburbs made the long-list, so as well as competing with one another, the Dublin nominees will also be going up against Rosewood Estate Ballincollig, Co Cork and Merlin Woods Community Garden in Galway for the title of Ireland’s Greenest Suburb.

Three of Dublin’s nominations are for Ireland’s Greenest Community.

The three nominees in this category are Treasure the Tolka, St Mark’s Youth & Family Centre Tallaght and Castleknock GAA club.

Eight projects or places were nominated in this category so the Dublin nominees will also be competing with the University of Galway, Enniscorthy Community Allotments in Wexford, Baltray Littler Tern Conservancy in Louth, The Circular Square in Clonmel and Siopa Glas in Ballon in County Carlow.

The final nominee is for J. Owen Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Architectural Science at UCD, who is nominated in Ireland’s Net Zero Hero category.

There were six nominations in this new category, and Professor Lewis will face strong competition from climate action champions in three other counties, including three from Wicklow.

This is the second year of ‘Ireland’s Greenest Places 2026’, an initiative, which is being run by The Irish Times in association with Electric Ireland.

It began in late May when members of the public were invited to nominate a special place, person or project which they believe contributes to a genuinely greener environment.

The six Dublin nominees are among almost 90 nominations received from members of the public from all over the country.

After Galway and Wicklow, Tipperary, Mayo, Cork and Wexford have two nominations each, while Waterford, Louth and Carlow are on one, bringing the total long-list to 23.

One of the main aims of the competition is to showcase what can be achieved when people work together to deliver more sustainable and greener communities.

Eamon Ryan, a former minister for the environment and leader of the Green Party, is one of the judges.

He said the judging panel had been very impressed by the quality and diversity of the environmental projects being undertaken around the country.

“It was a real challenge for us to come up with the long-list, and we spent many hours reviewing and debating the entries.

“But that is a compliment to the excellent quality of the work being done by the people, projects and places which were nominated.

“So congratulations to the 23 projects and people who made it onto the long-list but also to everyone who entered and is doing such valuable work.

“Each place was judged on specific criteria including its beneficial environmental impact, level of ongoing collective engagement by the community and evidence of behavioural change by people.

“It’s clear that all the projects which entered are not just delivering significant environmental dividends but also really important community benefits also.”