The Killarney Coffee Cup project has been named the overall winner of this year’s Killarney Looking Good Competition.
The community initiative has led to the removal of over 23,000 disposable coffee cups a week from the town.
In addition to winning the Green Hospitality category, the project was named the overall winner at a ceremony in the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney last night.
Paud O'Donoghue from Ross Road was awarded the Yvonne Quill Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award.
Killarney became the first town in the country and set a nationwide example when declaring war against disposable cups that were from bins, littering roads and blighting the national park. The end result of the project – which has had wonderful buy-in from local businesses and the community is that more than a million cups a year have been removed, eliminating 18.5 tonnes of waste.
The special guest, who presented all the awards, was GAA superstar Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh.
The other big winners on the night were Paud Murphy from Ross Road who was awarded the Yvonne Quill Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award – presented by the late Yvonne’s husband John and Pinewood Estate which won the Fr Michael Murphy Memorial Pride of Place Award presented by Fr Michael’s brother, Bishop Emeritus Bill Murphy.
Over three decades after it was first initiated, the Killarney Looking Good Competition was revived last year with a new committee, new categories, new sponsors and a great sense of purpose. the relaunch coincided with Killarney being crowned the tidiest large town in the country, finishing just one point behind the overall tidy towns winner Abbeyleix in Co Laois.
The competition runs throughout the tourist season and businesses and residential areas are monitored on an ongoing basis.
