The Tidy Towns competition was established in 1958 to bolster anti-litter efforts and encourage the populations of small towns across Ireland to dedicate themselves to improving the appearance of their streets. The goal of the Tidy Towns organisation is to make the towns of Ireland a better place to live, work, and visit. Only 52 towns entered the competition in its first year, but this was soon to be improved upon as now some 700+ towns enter each year.
The first ever winner of the Tidy Towns competition was Glenties, Co. Donegal, which then went on to win the following 2 consecutive years also.
