16/10/2026
Last night in Cork, Dún Laoghaire was formally presented with its first ever Purple Flag at the Purple Flag Awards Ceremony at The Metropole Hotel.
Our CEO Colette O'Sullivan delivered a pre-recorded message inviting attendees to visit Dún Laoghaire in the future and our Purple Flag Coordinator, Gisèle Scanlon, accepted the Purple flag on behalf of the town:
“I’m so grateful to Colette O’Sullivan, CEO of DLR Chamber, for the opportunity to work on this very interesting project. Colette had a long-term vision and championed Dún Laoghaire from day one. Gathering input from our 41-strong stakeholder group has been so rewarding, immersing me in the science and research of placemaking and community safety. None of this would have been possible without Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Chamber of Commerce and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, who backed the process throughout. Although I accepted the flag on behalf of the Dún Laoghaire team, it truly belongs to everyone, and I look forward to supporting the Chamber and Council to earn more Purple Flags across the county.” — Gisèle Scanlon Purple Flag Coordinator
“A Purple Flag application takes well over a year to prepare, and it’s what happens when a whole community pulls in the same direction. I’m proud of this team and thankful to every partner who gave their time to it, including Frank Curran, John O' Toole and Jim Gildea for the Council’s support from the start, Colin Brown President of DLR Chamber and General Manager Royal Marine Hotel, An Garda Síochána, dlba - Dún Laoghaire Business Association , DLR Tidy Towns, DLRPPN, our businesses, residents and volunteers.
Now our job is to keep developing, so that Dún Laoghaire and towns across the county stay safe, welcoming and full of life long after 5pm.” — Colette O'Sullivan, CEO, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber would like to thank Ojay McDonald and Laura Young and the ATCM Purple Flag team for a successful evening, and to the Lord Mayor of Cork and Cork City Council - Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí for the warm welcome.
*We were humbled to share the evening with such prestigious awardees including:
Leicester Square & Piccadilly Circus – the longest-serving Purple Flag area in the world, since 2010
Cork City Council – our gracious hosts, a Purple Flag city since 2015
St Helens Merseyside, North West England – flying the flag since 2022
Lichfield in Staffordshire, England – a Purple Flag city since 2024
Llandudno – like us, receiving its first Purple Flag, and the first in North Wales
We look forward to developing our Evening and Night-Time Economy alongside these worthy recipients and the 90+ Purple Flag destinations across the globe, from the UK and Ireland to Sweden, Malta, New Zealand and Australia. This coming year is going to be an exciting one for DLR Chamber as we develop the ENTE across Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown.
