About Us:


Abbeyleix Tidy Towns Committee was established over 62 years ago in 1959 in an effort to galvanise the community to work together to ensure Abbeyleix was not only a great place to live but to work in and visit also. Over the years the committee grew and forged alliances with the Laois County Council, schools and community groups building a momentum that is in evidence today by the achievements of the local organisation.

Abbeyleix Tidy Towns (ATT) is charged with creating a community that continues to be an attractive place to live, to work and to visit. Our focus is now on placemaking and on reimagining our beautiful heritage town as a smart and sustainable community that is fit for the 21st Century.

We have an inclusive ethos and work hard to engage the wider community in our work. We also collaborate freely with external groups and institutions and maintain a very positive working relationship with a range of public bodies and agencies, not least our Local Authority.

We promote a support local ethos and are currently working on significant flagship biodiversity and climate actions projects that will move us forward on our journey to become a truly sustainable community.

Goals for the future

  • For Abbeyleix to retain its status as an attractive heritage town.

  • Promote environmental awareness, civic spirit and pride in the community.

  • Encourage active participation and involvement of groups and organisations in environmental initiatives.

  • Create innovative and effective projects and initiatives with a view to addressing local challenges.

  • Ensure value for money through maximisation of resources and through effective and efficient delivery of services.

Our Tidy Towns Committee has an active membership of 10 - 15 members which are drawn from across the community and we also draw on a wider group of volunteers to help us to deliver our goals. We work closely with all the relevant groups in town and have direct representation on the following committees: Abbeyleix Heritage Company, Abbeyleix Bog Project, Abbeyleix Park Development and APEC (Community Employment Scheme), Fr Breen Park Committee.

We have recently produced a 5 year action plan to help turn our visions into a reality. This plan is a checklist of the steps and tasks we need to complete, in order to achieve continued success as an all inclusive community. It is an essential part of our strategic planning for the next 5 years and will help with improving our teamwork. Our plan is devised in a manner which encourages people to take ownership and responsibility for tasks in all areas, especially in the strange times we now find ourselves. The success of this plan will ultimately be decided by the strength of the people assigned to the various tasks and with help from the wider community. Building on our recent success we need to keep repeating the message that our plan is a win-win for everyone.

We are extremely lucky to have had such forward-thinking people involved in Tidy Towns since its foundation, who have taken the town from strength to strength. Much of the heavy lifting has already been done, which has resulted in excellent results to date. In recent years we have won Gold medals in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019.

We wish to acknowledge the huge amount of work done by so many people. We would also like to thank, each and every one of our volunteers and helpers for their time and tireless commitment to our community. We need to continue this work. We take immense pride in our heritage and our town. The one common theme amongst our volunteers is that we ‘Love where we Live’.

Finally, we will only consider our community development a success when those who are marginalised and excluded from society are enabled to gain self-confidence and to join with others. In practising what we preach , everyone is encouraged to participate in our plans and actions to change their situation and to tackle the problems that face our community for the greater good.