Waterford City has been named as one of the five Best Places to Live in Ireland 2021.
The competition’s judges praised its rich history, walkability, liveability, and the ease of access it offers to outdoor amenities.
The other places to make the Top 5 are Clonakilty, Galway City, the village of Glaslough in Co. Monaghan and Killarney Co Kerry.
The Irish Times ‘Best Place to Live in Ireland’ competition, began in June when members of the public were invited to nominate their favourite place to live for the award.
Over the course of the summer, more than 2,400 members of the public nominated 470 locations in every county in Ireland for the title.
Two weeks ago the long list of Best 20 Places to Live in Ireland was published and now Waterford City has made it through to the Best 5 short list. The overall winner will be named next weekend.
Each place was judged on criteria including, natural amenities; buildings; community initiatives and spirit; presence of clubs, societies, and activities; good local services; diversity; a welcome for outsiders; transport links; employment opportunities; the price of property and housing supply; cost of living; digital links for distance working; safety and security.
While the number of nominations was a factor in the selection of the top locations – Waterford received 47 - the quality of the place itself was the chief consideration.
The panel of five judges – which includes Mayo County architect Simon Wall, Monaghan GP Dr Illona Duffy, RTE Nationwide TV presenter Zainab Boladale and Irish Times journalist Rosita Boland – spent hours reading and debating the entries, before selecting the Top 5.
Here’s what the judges had to say about Waterford City.
“Nobody here was surprised to hear Waterford was being considered as one of the best places to live in Ireland. It isn’t perfect, and suffers from the same problems as other cities, though perhaps on a smaller scale. But what it lacks in those attributes, it makes up for with its rich history, walkability, liveability and the ease of access to outdoor amenities.”
And this is what Micheal O’Foghlu said about the city in his nomination.
“Waterford City hits the sweet spot for size: not too small, not too big. Most amenities, from shopping to cliff walks, are within 15 minutes of the city. Tramore and Dunmore East are hubs for surfing, sailing and all things in between, and the Waterford Greenway has opened up the region. There’s a booming IT and pharma sector, and the local housing market provides many reasonable options for all types of housing.”
The Chair of the Judging Panel Conor Goodman said that while property prices are just one of several measures the judges are applying in choosing the Best Place to Live, in the midst of a housing crisis they are an important consideration.
As part of its analysis of each location the judges compared local prices with the regionalised ‘affordable’ housing caps listed in the Government’s ‘Housing For All Plan’.
