St Anne’s Park in Dublin named among world’s top five parks

St Anne’s Park in north Dublin has been named among the world’s top five Green Flag award parks.

Abraham Ledeboerpark in the Netherlands, Al Bahya Garden in the United Arab Emirates, Parque da Cidade in Portugal and Stadtpark in Germany are also among the top five parks based on a judging process and 45,000 votes cast by the public from around the world.

The Green Flag award is an international benchmarking standard for parks and green spaces.

The scheme encourages high environmental performance and good management. Parks and green spaces are judged against eight key criteria, according to An Taisce.

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An Taisce’s environmental educational unit has been operating the scheme within the State since 2016.

Participating countries include Australia, Belgium, England, Finland, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Portugal, the Republic of 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.

Robert Moss, the Republic of Ireland Green Flag award manager said: "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.”

The Green Flag awards are judged every year in June by a 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.

The public had their chance to vote for their favourite Green Flag park or garden in September.