CORK was the county with the most awarded sites in An Taisce’s international Blue Flag and the national Green Coast Awards for 2023.
The county had a total of 27 awards comprising 10 Blue Flag beaches, two Blue Flag marinas and 15 Green Coast awarded sites.
Of the eight sites receiving both the Blue Flag and Green Coast Award were Fountainstown and Inchydoney East Beach. The Blue Flag has become an internationally recognised symbol of high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety. For the 2023 season, 159 awards were conferred, marking a notable milestone as two additional sites received the prestigious award this year.
During the ceremony, 84 beaches and 10 marinas in Ireland received the Blue Flag, while 65 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award. Cathy Baxter, director of the environmental education unit of An Taisce, said: ‘It takes immense dedication and effort to manage a beach or marina to meet the rigorous standards set by these prestigious award programmes, and we extend our warmest congratulations to all the deserving sites that have achieved this remarkable reward.’
