Buncrana begins Tidy Towns gold medal push with Big Spring Clean

The Buncrana Tidy Towns Initiative (BTTI) will hold its annual Big Spring Clean on Saturday, 11 April, and is calling for volunteers to get involved.
Last week, members of the group travelled to Carrick-on-Shannon for the national launch of the SuperValu 2026 Tidy Towns competition, where they also collected Buncrana’s gold medal from last year’s competition.
While core volunteers have been working throughout the winter and early spring, the Big Spring Clean traditionally marks the start of Buncrana’s preparations for the competition, as the town bids to win the overall title of Ireland’s tidiest town.
Last year, Buncrana retained its crown as Donegal's tidiest town and fell just two points short of overall national winner Carrick-on-Shannon.

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BTTI is encouraging local community groups, clubs and members of the public to take part on Saturday, 11 April. Under-16s are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.
Volunteers will gather at the Tourist Office on Railway Road at 10am. The clean-up is expected to take around an hour, with refreshments served afterwards in McKenna’s Shop, located across the road.
Participants are encouraged to wear high-visibility clothing and to bring a litter picker and gloves if possible. Equipment will also be available on the day.
The Buncrana clean-up is one of several events taking place across the county - including Carndonagh - throughout April as part of An Taisce’s National Spring Clean campaign, now in its 27th year.