It’s crunch time in this year’s Killarney Looking Good Competition with the adjudicators preparing to make their final deliberations in the coming weeks.

Nominations and observations are being considered and an independent judge – who is not from Killarney – will recommend the winners of the various categories before the winner of the sought-after 2023 overall award if selected.

Awards will be presented in 26 different categories and high achievers in the business and residential community will be honoured at a gala prizegiving ceremony at the close of the tourist season.

In the business community, there will be awards for the best large and small commercial premises, best newly painted premises, best signage and the best retail award with prizes also for the most impressive hotel, public house, restaurant, café, guesthouse and best public building as well as the most improved premises.

In the residential categories awards will go to the best large and small residential areas, best private residence, best roadside garden, best floral display and best friendly planting award.

Other categories include a green hospitality award, a corporate special responsibility award, a restoration award, best school and a special biodiversity award.

Over three decades after it was first initiated, to help improve the aesthetic values of the town, the Killarney Looking Good Competition returned with a vengeance this summer with a new committee, new categories, new sponsors and a new approach.

The project was first launched by the then Killarney Working Group, in 1991, and it has grown in importance with each passing year, culminating in some style when Killarney won the prestigious overall award in the national tidy towns competition in 2011.

After an enforced three-year absence, due to the pandemic, the competition has now been given a whole new lease of life.

This year also two new categories have been introduced in memory of two remarkable people who played massive roles in keeping Killarney looking its best down through the years.

Yvonne Quill Memorial Award

Yvonne Quill, who passed away last October, was the driving force behind the Killarney tidy towns campaign for several years and she was at the helm when the sought-after overall award was secured 12 years ago.

This year the Yvonne Quill Memorial Award will be presented to the volunteer of the year – a person who the adjudicators consider to be a standout contributor – in the overall effort to keep Killarney tidy.

Up to the time of his death in January 2020, Fr Michael Murphy was the public face of tidy towns and he played a huge part in Killarney, Kenmare and Sneem winning the overall national award in 2011, 2000 and 1987 respectively. Affectionately known as Fr Tidy, this year the Killarney Looking Good Competition will honour his memory with a special Pride of Place award.

The Killarney Looking Good Competition is organised by Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and Killarney Municipal District Council and the new committee comprises Sandra Dunlea – a daughter of the late Yvonne Quill – Kathleen Foley, Juliette Kelly and John O’Mahony working under the auspices of the Killarney Tidy Towns Committee chaired by former councillor and Tidy Towns champion Michael Gleeson.

MD O’Shea & Sons are the new overall sponsors of the competition and O’Mahony Media Ltd is the media sponsor.

The competition has  been running throughout the tourist season and businesses and residential areas have been monitored on an ongoing basis.
Official nomination forms are still available from the public office in the Killarney Town Hall or from Bricín Craft shop and Boxty House on High Street.