Abbeyleix blooming as judges come to town
Ireland represented by Abbeyleix on International Stage
By Ethan Robertson
Abbeyleix, the picturesque Heritage Town, is set to bloom on the international stage as it is proud to represent Ireland in this year’s Communities in Bloom competition as one of a handful of towns selected to compete globally.
Abbeyleix was selected by the Department of Community, the Gaeltacht and Rural Development to represent Ireland on the international stage in the 2025 Communities in Bloom competition.
A great deal of effort has gone into the town to look its absolute best for the 2025 International Communities in Bloom competition, in which the 2023 SuperValu TidyTown’s winner represents Ireland.
The competition, originally founded in Canada with inspiration from Britain in Bloom, and France’s Villes et Villages Fleuris, has since grown into a global initiative.
Today, it involves hundreds of participating communities across Canada and features towns and cities from the United States, Asia, and various European nations, including Ireland.
Judges Alain Cappelle from Nieuwpoort, Belgium and Anthony O’Neill from British Columbia, Canada, arrived in Abbeyleix on Thursday to begin their 3-day evaluation and assessed the small heritage town against six key criteria: Community appearance, plant and floral displays, environmental action, heritage conservation, tree management, and landscape
Abbeyleix Tidy Towns, local volunteers, schools, and community groups spent several months preparing the town for the 3-day evaluation. Every day for the past few months volunteers could be seen around the town gardening or cleaning around Abbeyleix and it was clear that a fantastic effort was put into the town prior to the evaluation.
On Friday the 27th, the second day of the evaluation, a press conference was held in the Manor Hotel involving the two judges, Robbie Quinn head of Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and Simon Walton of Laois County Council, and the four had nothing but praise for the small town.
“The volunteer activity in this community is a value that is phenomenal”
This was Anthony O’Neill’s opinion on Abbeyleix during the press conference involving himself and Alain Cappelle, who are both international judges for the Communities in Bloom competition.
