While Dublin and Cork are being shamed into an antilitter campaign by posters apologising for the rubbish-strewn streets, Clare has been offered the reward of £100,000 to clean up its act.
The offer from Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) is conditional on the county council achieving an 85 per cent litter-free rating from a national An Taisce committee which will discreetly monitor progress.
Dr Tom Cavanagh, IBAL's chairman, said Clare had been selected because of the enthusiasm of its county manager, Mr Willie Moloney, to implement a litter management plan.
"You have to have procedures in place that will deal with the irregular nature of the problem. It is difficult for local authorities to have that kind of flexibility," he said.
He cites the county's attractions - its coastline, lakes, the Burren, and its archaeological heritage - saying that Shannon Airport makes Clare a natural gateway for tourism entering the State.
"The airports are the visiting cards of a country," Mr Cavanagh said.
For commercial reasons alone, the county stands to gain by reaching the 85 per cent target but "Clare has a lot to do to present itself".
Other than Ennis, the county does not have any big centres of population. "In a rural community, you can do a lot without enforcement. You can do a lot by word of mouth, by giving a lead, by peer pressure.
"It will not happen in an urban area without law enforcement."
A similar campaign was successful in Co Waterford in 1998. "If we have Waterford clean and Clare clean, it will show to the country that it can be done," Mr Cavanagh said.
But he added that, nationally, anti-litter laws were not being enforced. "In the last six months that we have figures for, only 62 gardai in the country imposed a fine in spite of the fact that there are millions of offences every week."
He said owners of pubs and fast-food restaurants were not observing the law on keeping walkways free of litter for 100 metres in all directions.
"The law is there but the law is a farce."