Diarmuid Gavin and Colm Hayes Launch New RTÉ Series Dirty Old Towns?

Television horticulturist Diarmuid Gavin wants to take the dirtiest towns in Ireland, grab them by the scruff of the neck and rally their communities to turn them into places to be proud of. Today, Monday January 24th, Diarmuid and RTÉ 2fm radio presenter Colm Hayes launched the new series of Dirty Old Towns? in RTÉ.

Dirty Old Towns? is a national campaign to give Ireland's dirtiest towns their pride of place back - not with money, not with the government, but with the people living there. This isn't about stopping people dropping litter; it's about pride, sweat and tears. It's about changing attitudes across the nation as people take back responsibility for their town.

An untidy town is bad for tourism, investment and community spirit. This series pits Diarmuid's vision, leadership and ability to inspire against the dirty habits of a lifetime.

Charleville in Co. Cork and three other towns will form the focus of the television series - Athboy in Co. Meath, Rathangan in Co. Kildare and Rathkeale in Co. Limerick. In addition to these regularly featured towns there will be weekend challenges featuring an additional six locations. That's where listeners to the Colm Hayes Show come in - we want you to nominate the worst eye sore in your area that needs a bit of TLC from the local community.

Is your main street in need of a makeover? Is there an abandoned space that could be turned into a public amenity? Is a derelict building ruining the look of the town? Get in touch with the Colm Hayes Show on RTÉ 2fm and tell us what needs done in your town and Diarmuid and his team might be able to do something about it.

We're going to make a difference to these towns and a difference to Ireland!