Dublin’s St Anne’s Park voted amongst the world’s best

The Clocktower within St Anne’s Park. Photo: Robert Moss.

Following a public vote which saw 45,000 votes cast, St Anne's Park in North Dublin was voted one of the world's top five Green Flag Award parks.

Sports & Parks

5 November 2019

St Anne’s Park, situated between Clontarf and Raheny in North Dublin, was voted one of the top five Green Flag Award parks in the world by a public vote which saw over 45,000 votes cast.

Maintained by Dublin City Council, St Anne’s Park exceeded tough environmental standards in green space management and excellence of visitor attractions to be awarded the Green Flag Award for Parks in 2019 – an award which is recognised throughout the world.

“St Anne’s Park is one of the green space citadels that make North Dublin a special place. Its location within the buffer zone of the Dublin Bay Biosphere makes it an important site for biodiversity, especially as a feeding site for Brent Geese and other shorebirds at high tide.”, said Robert Moss, Republic of Ireland Green Flag Award manager.

The top five parks listed in alphabetical order are:

Name	Managing organisation	Country
Abraham Ledeboerpark	Gemeente Enschede Afdeling Stadsdeelbeer	The Netherlands
Al Bahya Garden	Abu Dhabi City Municipality	United Arab Emirates
Parque da Cidade	Câmara Municipal do Porto	Portugal
St Anne’s Park	Dublin City Council	Republic of Ireland
Stadtpark – Botanischer Garten Gütersloh	Fachbereich Grünflächen Stadt Gütersloh	Germany

An Taisce Environmental Education Unit has been operating the Green Flag Awards for Parks scheme in Ireland since 2016.

Participating countries include: Australia, Belgium, England, Finland, Germany, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Wales.

The 2019 awards were available to public town parks, country parks, gardens, cemeteries, and green spaces from across the whole country.

The Green Flag Awards are judged every year in June by a peer jury of green space experts, who volunteer their time to visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability, and community involvement.

In September this year, the public had their chance to vote for their favourite Green Flag Park or Garden, wherever it may be in the world.

“Both Mexico and Portugal were new to join the Green Flag Award scheme in 2019 so it was fantastic to see Parque da Cidade appear in the top five voted parks.”, said Carl McClean, international development manager, Green Flag Award.

McClean continued: “With new partnerships in Spain, Belgium, and Finland, alongside many other applications coming in from new countries, it’s a really exciting time to be part of this growing network of recognised parks – well done to all involved.”