Lord Mayor welcomes Communities in Bloom judges

24/06/2026

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Damian Boylan, has welcomed judges of the 32nd edition of the international Communities in Bloom (CiB) competition to Cork as they judge Ireland’s representative in the competition – Ballincollig, the country’s 2024 National Tidy Towns winner.

The Communities in Bloom judges, Dr Andrea Bocsi from Fejér, Hungary and Anthony O'Neill from North Saanich, British Columbia Canada, visited City Hall on Thursday, where they were welcomed to the city by Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Gary O’Brien, and briefed by senior staff of Cork City Council’s parks and recreation department.

The judges will spend Friday evaluating the town.

Volunteers from Ballincollig Tidy Towns (BTT), with support from Cork City Council, have been preparing the town for months to take part in the International Challenge Medium category, along with the town of Nagykőrös, Pest in Hungary.

The community will be rated from 1 to 5 Blooms, based on the scoring obtained. They will aim to obtain Bronze, Silver or Gold levels in their 5-Bloom rating.

The national and international results will be announced in Montreal and Rosemère, Quebec Canada from October 15 to 17, 2026 during the National Symposium and Awards Ceremonies.

Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit volunteer and partnership-driven organisation that uses a multi-tiered competitive evaluation process to foster community strength, involvement, and continuous improvement.

This is accomplished by nurturing environmental sustainability, enhancements of green spaces, and heritage conservation in cultural and natural environments encompassing municipal, residential, commercial, and institutional spaces.