Ballinode Wins Its Category at the 2026 IPB Pride of Place Awards
Ballinode took the top prize in the 300 to 1,000 population category at the all-island IPB Pride of Place awards in Dublin at the weekend. It was one of three Monaghan nominees.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
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Castle Leslie, Glaslough. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Olliebailie · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
Ballinode won the population 300 to 1,000 category at the 2026 IPB Pride of Place awards, held at the Convention Centre in Dublin at the weekend, Northern Sound reported.
Pride of Place is an all-island competition run by Co-operation Ireland in partnership with IPB Insurance. Each local authority nominates community groups, and Northern Sound said councils put forward 108 projects this year. Monaghan County Council had said the gala awards ceremony would take place on 24 October.
Monaghan's three nominees
Monaghan County Council nominated three entries for 2026, and judges Tim Caffrey and John McGrillen visited them on 10 and 11 August:
Ballinode Community Centre, population 300 to 1,000 category
Lisdoonan Development Association, Community Wellbeing category
Ulster Canal Stores in Clones, Community Tourism category
After the August visits, Monaghan County Council chief executive Robert Burns said the judges had seen "the dedication, volunteerism and community spirit that are helping local areas to thrive."
Neighbouring Cavan also had a winner on the night: Cavan Tidy Towns won the Climate Action and Biodiversity category.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
The Department of Agriculture's county breakdown shows €12,771,956.54 in 2026 BISS and CRISS advances paid to 3,573 Monaghan farmers, after a six-day strike delay. That works out at about €3,575 each, against about €5,005 nationally.
Twenty-three Tidy Towns groups in Co Monaghan will share €32,000 from a €1.5 million national fund announced by Minister Dara Calleary. Grants range from €1,000 to €3,000, depending on town size.
About 80 premises in the Telaydon area and 14 near Smithboro lost power on Sunday, and supply was cut earlier in Tydavnet. Nationally, Storm Boelo left 41,000 premises without electricity at its peak.
