Pride of Place Awards judges to visit Laois town this week

Portlaoise and Clough Village will represent Laois in the Pride of Place Awards

Published 6th Jul 2026, 13:55 BST Judges will inspect Portlaoise this Thursday, July 9. Portlaoise and Clough Village will represent Laois in the Pride of Place Awards Judges of the all-island Pride of Place Awards will visit Laois this week.

Portlaoise Tidy Towns will represent County Laois in the Climate Action & Biodiversity category of the 2026 IPB Pride of Place competition.

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The judges will visit Portlaoise on Thursday, July 9 to inspect the town.

Clough Village are also representing Laois in the category for areas with a population under 300. The village will welcome judges later this month.

The competition gives communities across Ireland the opportunity to display how proud they are to live in, work in and take care of their own local areas. It recognises initiatives taken by local communities and celebrates the vital contributions they make to society.

The Chair of Portlaoise Tidy Towns, Vincent Booth, said he is looking forward to the visit.

“We are delighted to welcome the Pride of Place judges to Portlaoise this week. Our dedicated volunteers, alongside the team at Laois County Council, have put an enormous amount of work into preparing for this visit and we can’t wait to show Portlaoise off,” Mr Booth said.

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To welcome the judges, there will be a talk held in Portlaoise Library at 9.30am on Thursday which will be followed by a 2 hour walk around the town to visit projects completed by the Tidy Towns group.

Portlaoise Tidy Towns is a community-led organisation that plays a vital role in enhancing the town’s environment while promoting sustainability, climate action, and biodiversity. The group delivers projects that improve public spaces and help create a cleaner and greener town.

Climate action is embedded in many of its initiatives, including tree planting, pollinator-friendly planting schemes, litter reduction campaigns, habitat restoration, and support for active travel and environmental awareness.

Laois County Council has wished Portlaoise Tidy Towns the best of luck in this years’ IPB All Island Pride of Place Competition 2026.