Roscommon receives four nominations in search for Ireland's Greenest Places
Pictured at the launch of The Irish Times Ireland's Greenest Places 2025 in association with Electric Ireland are Beth Healy (12), Laura Gargiuto Keenan (12).
The final countdown is on for entries to Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025 with only days remaining for people to submit their nominations.
But you’ll have to act fast to be in with a chance to claim the title for the place you select, as the closing date of July 19th is fast approaching. At this stage Roscommon has four nominations. However counties Leitrim, Sligo, Galway, Westmeath and Clare have yet to be nominated.
The four nominations from Roscommon are all in respect of the Farming Rathcroghan Project.
One of the submissions described the project in detail: “The farmland comprising the ancient ‘royal’ landscape of Rathcroghan is a little greener than most, due to the initiative of the local landowners, farmers and the surrounding community. The Farming Rathcroghan Project, previously sponsored through the EU European Innovation Partnership and currently supported by the EU Just Transition Fund, had an ambitious agenda from the outset: to promote ‘sustainable farming in the Rathcroghan archaeological landscape’.
“Established in 2018, with the practical support and advisory expertise of other key stake-holders in its design, evolution and management, Farming Rathcroghan is actively addressing the critical challenges of rural depopulation, sustainable land-use, and climate change.
“The Project currently boasts sixty participating farming families, with a list of others waiting to join the programme. Farming Rathcroghan’s success can be measured in the positive impact, ambition and cohesion that it has brought to the wider community. It is based on a simple model of collaborative, community-led governance.
“It promotes the imaginative solutions and inventive innovations devised by members of the community itself, and actively engages with these initiatives towards sustaining a fulfilling farming livelihood, whilst simultaneously promoting the stewardship, conservation and protection of the archaeological, ecological and cultural heritage of the area.
“Farming Rathcroghan’s brief also addresses wider environmental concerns; the maintenance of ground-water quality, carbon sequestration, and other actions in support of government policy towards achieving a climate-neutral economy. It also promotes best agricultural and farming practices to protect soils, promote grassland biodiversity and maintain and manage hedgerows and marginal lands.
“It has also initiated a programme of drystone wall repair and the protection of traditional and vernacular built heritage unique to Rathcroghan. The Rathcroghan farming community have demonstrated the benefits of embracing farming traditions that are as old as its archaeological monuments, but with the addition of some modern, imaginative, green-tinged innovations.” The search which has been launched by The Irish Times, in association with Electric Ireland, will see each nominated place 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 Chair of the Judging Panel, Irish Times Features Editor Mary Minihan said they are looking for places which offer a vision of a more sustainable future.
“We chose place because it’s a deliberately broad term. People can nominate a suburb, village, town or community such as a peninsula, island or other distinct area anywhere on the island. The key will be how it measures up against the criteria outlined above as well of course as care for nature and the local environment.” “Over the next couple of months our judges will draw up longlists and shortlists based on the submissions, visit the front-runners, choose winners in each category and eventually choose an overall winner. We are delighted to have four entries already from Roscommon and we are looking forward to getting some more to help us identify Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025. But please submit your short nomination – up to 300 words - as soon as possible, as the closing date is July 19th.” If you know a place in Ireland that deserves recognition for its contribution to a greener future, visit https://tinyurl.com/GreenestPlaces to submit your nomination.
