Tralee and Lismore were announced as winners by Fáilte Ireland with the occasion of the National Tourism Towns Awards

The forth awards event was held at Dublin's Morrison Hotel this year. The Tourism Towns Award is a Fáilte Ireland annual project designed to sustain and promote Irish towns and villages with notable tourism performance and welcome levels for their visitors.

Munster dominated the list, as Tralee, Co. Kerry, won the title of Ireland's best large tourism town and Lismore, Co. Waterford, received the best small tourism town recognition.

On the occasion, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, commented:

"The people of Tralee and Lismore truly understand tourism and value their visitors. Ultimately, this shows in the quality of what they have to offer and in the warmth of their welcome.”

"The people of Lismore are constantly looking for ways to make the tourism experience as inclusive as possible and to encourage exploration of Lismore town and the general West Waterford area", said Mary O'Brien of Lismore Tidy Towns.

The award for Tralee was accepted by Kieran Ruttledge of Tralee Chamber Alliance and Tralee Tidy Towns. “In Kerry, tourism is everybody’s business and in Tralee almost 1,000 people are now directly employed in tourism related enterprises", he declares.

The judges also shared their opinions about the two winning towns:

"The impression and reality is that this is a very special offering - more than just a country town but a whole world of things to do.

"The local people pull together for the greater good of the town and are very proud of their town and what it stands for.

"The center of the town looks well - lots of color, flowers and well-maintained shop/business fronts, some old and new."

"They say the past is present in Lismore, and that's true. Beautifully maintained, compact, stepping back in time with all facilities and services in easy reach.

"It has the ability to cater for a variety of visitor needs and interests in a small compact way. It's picture perfect and has a feel of arriving in medieval times.

"The impression and reality is that this is a very historical and unspoilt place - where the locals are very proud of their town and what it stands for."

Nine out of the 10 nominated towns were from the Munster region, as neither of the last year's winners (Kinsale and Westport) made it to the shortlist. The winners gained a tourism development prize consisting of €5,000 each, to use for improving tourism experiences for their guests.