With less than a week of entry time remaining, there have been more than 1,000 entries for the Irish Times Best Place to Live in Ireland 2021 competition.
So far, locations in Dublin are the most popular having received a total of 239 entries.
The north Dublin suburb of Malahide accounts for more than half with 129 entries, bringing it neck and neck with the Co Monaghan village of Glaslough, which has been nominated 130 times.
On a county-by-county basis Dublin is followed by Monaghan with 199 entries in total.
Altogether, there have been 1,064 entries so far for the 32-county competition.
The Irish Times launched its search for the Best Place to Live in Ireland 2021 in June, and invited people countrywide to nominate their favourites.
Whether you live in a town, village, island or city on the island of Ireland – your home place has a chance to secure the coveted title of ‘Best Place to Live in Ireland’. Nominate your place now. https://t.co/a5k7VDJIjp
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) June 28, 2021
The nominated places will be researched and put before a panel of judges, who will choose an eventual winner in September.
This year’s competition is supported by Randox Health. Those who wish to enter, can go to irishtimes.com/bestplace where they will be invited to write a short “pitch” of 300 words or fewer for the place they think is the best in Ireland.
In terms of the criteria, you can decide what to nominate: it could be a town, village, city, suburb, island, or other distinct community – such as a peninsula, valley, townland or even a county.
Each place will be 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 and transport links.
They will also be judged on employment opportunities; local economy; the price of property and housing supply; cost of living; digital links for distance working; safety and security... and of course that all important X factor.
The closing date for entries is July 25th.
