Killarney is on the shortlist to be declared Ireland's Greenest Place in a nationwide poll promoted by the Irish Times with Electric Ireland.
The final countdown is underway and Kerry has secured three nominations for the final cut with the Dingle Peninsula and Castlegregory/Maharees joining the country's top tourist town.
All three are now contenders in their categories and for the overall title of Ireland's Greenest Place 2025 with 14 entries from around the country making it through to the final stage of the competition.
The category winners and overall winner of Ireland's Greenest Places 2025 will be announced on the weekend of September 12/13 and Kerry has the second highest number of nominees with Dublin leading the way on four and Mayo in third on two.
In the best town category Killarney is vying for the title with Skerries in Dublin and Ballina in Mayo.
In the village category Castlegregory/Maharees will be up against Louisburgh in Mayo, Inagh in Clare and Cloughjordan Ecovillage in Tipperary.
And in the community category the Dingle Peninsula will be competing with the Dysart River Project, Co Westmeath. Taplin's Fields Bridgefoot Street Park Community Garden and Coolmine Lodge, both Dublin and Ambrosetown Cemetery, Co Wexford.
The Ireland's Greenest Places 2025 initiative in late May when members of the public were invited to nominate a special place or project which they believe contributes to a genuinely greener environment.
The three Kerry nominees were among over 120 projects or places put forward by members of the public from all over the country and amongst 20 entries submitted from people in Kerry. The three made it onto the longlist which was published several weeks ago and all three have now made it through to the final stage.
The chair of the judging panel, Irish Times Features Editor Mary Minihan, said they had been blown away by the quality and diversity of the environmental projects being undertaken around the country.
"All 14 community entries which have made it through to the final stage have demonstrated clear evidence of widespread action on climate and sustainability goals. Many of the locations have benefitted from truly transformative action, changing both physically and culturally as a result of collaborative green projects."
She said 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.
The Kerry Finalists
Killarney: Under the Sustainable Killarney 2030 Vision, work is ongoing to make Killarney (pictured) the most sustainable town in Ireland. One badge of honour for the community is the claim it became the first town in Ireland to eliminate single-use takeaway coffee cups, preventing more than 1.5 million cups from reaching landfill.
A bee-friendly initiative supports pollinator habitats across town, while the Wander Wild Festival is built around fostering a deep connection to nature. Local businesses are committed to green efforts too, monitoring and reducing their energy use to play their part in a more sustainable future.
Castlegregory/Maharees: Driven entirely by local volunteers, this community places a huge effort on fostering nature through the planting of native trees and wildflowers, and the protection of insects and rare animals.
Castlegregory, a small village on the Dingle Peninsula (pictured) is home to around 350 people, while the Maharees, a 5km tombolo between Brandon and Tralee Bay, has a year-round population of 300 and welcomes an additional 3,000 residents each summer.
The physical environment needs support too. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels are of real concern for the area, but locals have worked to restore their landscape and safeguard it for the future by developing a programme of guidelines for residents and visitors alike.
Dingle Peninsula: More than a million people visit the Dingle Peninsula (pictured) annually, distancing the region dramatically from some of the smaller communities on the shortlist. A big area requires big green commitments and the community here has worked tirelessly to develop projects in energy, transport, agriculture and sustainable tourism, all of which is driven by the Dingle 2030 initiative.
There are three active Sustainable Energy Communities (in tourism, farming and neighbourhood) with 270 members in total; 350 people take part in a lift share group; 10,000 trees have been planted, with 11,000 more planned; and a ReFarm project has 10 family farms exploring low-carbon futures.
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