Dublin City Council

04/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2024 03:52

Ringsend Park awarded Green Flag Award for the first time ever

Dublin City Council is delighted to officially unveil Ringsend Park's first-ever Green Flag Award, a prestigious international mark of quality for parks and green spaces.

Cllr Dermot Lacey, Chairperson of the South East Area Committee, Dublin City Council, hosted a Green Flag raising ceremony to mark the occasion.

The Green Flag Award is an international benchmark for the quality and standard of parks. It was introduced into Ireland in 2015 and is administered by An Taisce with the aim of recognising and rewarding good park management and encouraging high environmental standards.

Cllr Dermot Lacey speaking at the ceremony said, "This is a great day for our Parks Service and a great day for Ringsend and the surrounding community. I am honoured and delighted to see such further improvements and look forward to the commencement of work on the Ringsend Library Plaza. This project shows Dublin City Council's ongoing commitment to enhancing local infrastructure and serving the needs of the area."

Leslie Moore, Dublin City Council City Parks Superintendent, said, "Ringsend Park is such an asset to the local community and a model park for the range of amenities it supports. At the edge of the docklands, at the heart of the city it is an oasis of green space with mature trees and a range of habitats for wildlife. The local community as well as the local parks staff will be very proud to raise the Green Flag today to celebrate this award and the great work done by many in the community to maintain and protect this park."

To achieve an award, a comprehensive management Plan has to be submitted and each park is visited by independent assessors. The Flag is awarded annually and an application for each park costs €500. Applicants are judged against 27 criteria within 8 standards, all of which must be passed to allow for the Green Flag to be awarded.

The eight standards are:

  1. A welcoming place
  2. Healthy, safe and secure
  3. Clean and maintained
  4. Sustainability
  5. Conservation and heritage
  6. Community involvement
  7. Marketing
  8. Management

We are pleased to announce that Ringsend Park was awarded its first Green Flag for 2023-2024. This is the first time that Parks Services decided to enter Ringsend Park for this award, and they hope to continue this achievement in the coming years, Ringsend will be entered again for the 2024-2025 Green Flag Award.

More information on the Green Flag Award and its judging criteria can be found at https://www.greenflagaward.org/

ENDS

Green Flag Parks Dublin City Council

In 2015, Dublin City Council submitted and achieved Green Flags for two parks, Bushy Park and Poppintree Park. This increased to five parks in 2016 to include Bushy Park, Poppintree Park, St. Anne's Park, Blessington St Park and Markievicz Park.

In 2023, eight other parks were submitted for a Green Flag Award. These Parks for the first time represent each Electoral Area. The following parks were awarded Green Flags.

  • • Albert College Park, Glasnevin.
  • • Ballyfermot People's Park.
  • • Blessington Street Park, North Inner City.
  • • Eamonn Ceannt Park, Crumlin.
  • • Father Collins Park, Clongriffin.
  • • Griffith Park, Glasnevin.
  • • Herbert Park, Ballsbridge.
  • • Poppintree Park, Ballymun