At the Entente Florale Europe Competition 2024 awards event held in Hungary on Saturday, Carlow town won three prizes.

The awards honour regional initiatives that promote environmental excellence.

The town was awarded a Special Characteristic Prize for the Delta Sensory Gardens in Carlow, the President's Prize for the town's rain garden development, and an overall Gold Award.

Sr. exec. of Carlow County Council Barry Knowles described the victory as a "huge achievement for Carlow and Ireland".

One of the local engineers in charge of the group who installed the rain gardens in Carlow Town was Mr. Knowles.

He said that the rain gardens were a "significant group effort" and that Carlow had defeated contenders from all around the continent to win the President's Prize.

In early 2022, two rain gardens were finished across from Shamrock Plaza.

Runoff water is cleaned, stored, and directed to a drainage layer by rain gardens, which are made of a free-draining soil mixture. Rain gardens receive the runoff of surface water from the roadway.

"The grey is being greened," Mr. Knowles declared.