This year’s Council of the Year Award went to South Dublin County Council, while Helen O’Donnell from Limerick was named as Community Volunteer of the Year. We have all the award winners here!
Helen and 25 others were among the winners at the Community and Council Awards 2026 held in Dublin on February 28. Helen had been nominated by Limerick City and County Council for her leadership and service to community development and environmental action over many years.
The awards, now in their 20th year, are organised by the Local Authorities Members Association, to recognise exceptional local authority projects, partnerships, and community champions.
Councillors nominate people and projects for the awards and, this year, the organisers received 533 nominations and shortlisted 137 entries across 26 categories.
• Kilkenny County Council won two main awards and were shortlisted in at least four other categories.
“The people and projects recognised tonight reflect the resilience, creativity, and volunteer spirit that strengthen local democracy and improve quality of life for people nationwide,” said John Hogan, Chairman of IPB Insurance, the awards’ long term sponsor and partner.
• Waterford City and County Council won an award for Best Green Sustainable Initiative – shown above.
The winners are:
In addition to these winners, a Grand Prix Award went to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Tom Dowling. Tom served as CEO of Meath County Council and Carlow County Council and is the founder and chair of Co-operation Ireland’s Pride of Place Awards, established in 2003.
