Springboard PR & Marketing and Waterford City & County Council have won a prestigious national PR award for the launch of the Waterford Greenway. The campaign won Best Public Sector Campaign at the Awards for Excellence in Public Relations at a gala lunch in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin on Friday, 22 June.

The awards were hosted by Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland), the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and Chartered Institute of Public Relations Northern Ireland. Now in their 25th year, the Awards for Excellence celebrate best practice in Irish public relations, public affairs and communications.

Springboard PR & Marketing and Waterford City & County Council’s winning campaign centred on the launch of the Waterford Greenway, Ireland’s longest off-road walking and cycling trail. It officially opened in March of last year. Running for 46km, the Greenway stretches from Waterford city to Dungarvan and is a key attraction as part of Fáilte Ireland’s Ancient East experience.

Springboard’s Managing Director and Strategic Lead, Susie Horgan said: “We’re thrilled to have won the Award for Excellence in Public Relations for our work with Waterford City & County Council on the Waterford Greenway launch.

“To be shortlisted alone was such an honour, and to have won it is an achievement that we are so proud of. The launch of the Waterford Greenway was a fantastic PR and digital campaign to work on, and we are delighted to see that it’s fast becoming one of the top tourism attractions in Ireland.”

Michael Quinn, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Economic Development & Planning at Waterford City & County Council, added: “This award is reflective of the hard work and dedication that was put into promoting the Greenway ahead of, and during, the launch. This significantly contributed to almost 250,000 people either cycling or walking the Waterford Greenway last year. It’s an extraordinary achievement, which in turn, has transformed Waterford and boosted the local economy.”