Garnish gets green flag recognition

GARINISH Island off the Glengarriff coast has been named as one of 10 parks and gardens to be awarded a 2023 International Green Flag.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) welcomed the news that 10 of their sites were among a group of over 100 Irish public parks, gardens and voluntary run green community sites across the Republic of Ireland who received their 2023 flags. 

The Green Flag Awards, administered by An Taisce in Ireland, recognise and encourage the provision of good quality parks and green spaces that are managed in environmentally sustainable ways.  

The awards are marked on eight criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability, and community involvement.  The scheme also operates in several countries including Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, The Netherlands, UK and New Zealand.

Located in a sheltered harbour in Bantry Bay, Garinish Island (the ‘near’ island) is an island of 15 hectares known to horticulturists and lovers of trees and shrubs worldwide as an island garden of rare beauty.  The gardens of Ilnacullin (Island of the Holly) owe their existence to the creative partnership of John Annan Bryce and Harold Ainsworth Peto over a century ago.

Bequeathed to the Irish people in 1953 and managed by the OPW, Garinish Island (Ilnacullin) welcomes over 65,000 guests annually who enjoy its gardens and also Bryce House, which was opened to the public after a major restoration, in 2015.

The gardens are extensive, incorporating a range of features eg annual bedding, herbaceous borders, heather banks, hedging, shrubberies, tree plantations, bog garden, fern garden, ponds, glades, lawn and walled gardens.

Fota House was also named as one of the 10 and the full list is at heritageireland.ie