Tidy Towns 2007 competition kicks off

The National Tidy Towns competition for 2007 was unveiled in Dublin's Temple Bar this afternoon.

Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Batt O'Keefe was joined by stilt-walkers, fire-eaters and face painters to celebrate the start of the popular competition, which first began in 1958.

Originally established and organised by Bord Fáilte, it was taken over by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in 1995 and has been sponsored by retailer SuperValu since 1992.

Recent winners of the tidiest town in Ireland award include Ennis, Co Clare; Lismore, Co Waterford; Keadue, Co Roscommon; and Castletown in Co Laois, while Westport, Co Mayo, won the prize for the second time in 2006 when it beat almost 700 others to the title.

Last year saw the introduction of a number of changes including a new "large urban centre" category (population over 15,000) to recognise the dramatic population increase and urbanisation of towns, particularly around the cities of Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

Closing dates for entries of Tidy Towns 2007 is May 18th. Entry forms may be obtained from the Tidy Towns Unit in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government - Free phone 1800-787878 - or at www.tidytowns.ie.