Kilkenny’s position as Ireland’s tidiest town has been further confirmed in the 2016 IBAL (Irish Business Against Litter) survey which has been just released. Kilkenny has achieved No1 in the latest survey  with Enniscorthy and Kildare receiving joint second.

The result reflects the hard work being undertaken by all our our Community  in Keeping Kilkenny Beautiful.

Kilkenny:  1^st out of 40 towns / cities surveyed.  Cleaner than European Norms.

Yet another success for Kilkenny with nine out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade. What sets Kilkenny and other very high scoring towns apart is not just the lack of litter but the care and attention in the presentation of the environment. Kilkenny even has an example of a vacant building on Tholand Street which, although vacant, was still carefully presented.  Other examples of  very good sites were Kilkenny Train Station (Exterior), Riverbank and Market Cross Shopping Centre. 

Kilkenny Train Station – Exterior:  Grade A.  This was an excellent site.  Abundant flowering at the bottom of the steps and wheelchair ramp are a lovely feature.  All aspects of the area surveyed were in very good order and there was a complete absence of litter throughout.

Kilkenny Train Station – Interior:  Grade A. The interior of the station was pristine.  The seating, bins, plants and hanging baskets etc. were all in excellent order.  The walls were adorned with plenty of sepia photographs, a nice touch to the station interior.

John Street:  Grade A.  This shopping street made the top litter grade, but only just.  The general presentation was good with attractive paving, hanging baskets and shop fronts.

St. John’s Junior School:  Grade A.  A neat and clean environment which was well presented and maintained.  No major litter issues to report.

River Bank:  Grade A.  This was a lovely setting which has been very carefully maintained.  The lawns running down to the riverbank were immaculately cut and abundant flower boxes lined some stretches of the river.  The whole area surveyed was spotless throughout.

Market Cross Shopping Centre:  Grade A.  This is a town centre shopping centre – between High Street and James’s Street.  Like so many other features in Kilkenny it has been very attractively laid out with paving, seating, plants etc. all contributing to the overall appearance.  It was free of litter throughout.

Vacant Building beside Tholand:  Grade A.  The street level of this building has been covered in newspapers.  While unoccupied, it was neat and clean and located beside some more wonderful flower boxes and hanging baskets which added a nice splash of colour.

Bottle Bank:  Grade B.  (beside ESB  substation  / box) On first impression all appeared in good order at this small bottle bank facility.  The bins themselves were generally clean and the front was mostly clear of litter.  However, the area to the rear of the bins had a definite litter presence – cans, fast-food wrappers and glass bottles were the most prevalent types of litter found.

N77 Durrow Approach Road:  Grade A.  This was an excellent route in and out of Kilkenny.  The road surface, signage and markings were in good order and the cycle paths and grass areas to the side of the road were well maintained – a top ranking site throughout.

N10 Carlow – Kilkenny Connecting Road:  Grade A.  All appeared in very good order along this route –  the overall impression was of a well planned and executed route which was fresh, clean and tidy.

The Worlds End Bar on John street