‘A great honour’ - Laois village nominated for Pride of Place contest
A Laois village has been nominated for the prestigious All-Ireland Pride of Place competition.
Laois County Council selected Clough village to represent the county in the upcoming All-Ireland Price of Place Awards 2026 in the category for communities with a population under 300.
The IPB Pride of Place competition acknowledges communities across the country who have done a lot of work to improve their local area.
Communities that are nominated for the competition must demonstrate to the judges their pride of place by oral presentations which highlight community activities, culture and other aspects that contribute to their pride of place.
Welcoming the news, the Clough Tidy Towns group said the nomination is “a wonderful recognition of the pride, community spirit, and ongoing work taking place throughout our village and the wider Aghaboe Parish.”
Upon the announcement of their nomination, Councillor John King has asked Laois County Council to give support and carry out some minor works in Clough as well as work with the community to prepare for the competition.
“This is a great honour for Clough. There is great community spirit out there,” Cllr King said in the recent meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick MD.
Cllr King commended the excellent work the community has done in recent years with the improvements to the GAA grounds and their future plans for to create a community hall and a playground in the area. He noted that the GAA grounds is open for use and it will have a grand opening in the coming weeks.
“There’s a few little jobs that need to be done and I don’t mind supporting them from my discretionary funding,” the Fine Gael councillor said.
Fellow councillors from the MD congratulated Clough, with Cllr Conor Bergin saying they are a “shining example of what communities can do.”
Cllr James Kelly added: “It’s a lot of hard work to get there and so being nominated is a great honour.”
Laois County Council agreed to provide assistance to the community of Clough in anticipation for the competition.
A community meeting was held on Monday, April 27 at Clough NS for locals to learn more about the competition.
Representatives from Laois County Council were in attendance to outline the awards process, explain what is involved in the national competition, and to discuss how the wider community can support their efforts.
Judging for the Pride of Place competition will take place in Clough on Friday, July 24 from 2-30 to 5pm.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme