Dublin Galway Greenway

According to reports in recent days in the Connacht Tribune , the Dublin Galway greenway project may be either terminally dead or seriously wounded. Apparently, a report into the recent consultation with landowners has been handed to the Minister. The report appears to say that 63% of galway farmers are opposed to the project in it's current plan. This is a major set back for the project and hopefully this is not the end of the ambitious plan. It comes at particularly time when optimism is high with the opening of the Mullingar to Athlone greenway . It is claimed that rural communities could benefit enormously from tourism traffic that otherwise bypasses these areas. Some communities are even seeing greenways as one way for rural communities to fight back against a backdrop of rural decline. While some politicians such as  Denis Naughten  are trying to keep the dialogue open with the Minister on alternative route options, it is hard to see how the project can proceed under s

To celebrate the opening (Sunday 18th Oct) of the Athlone to Mullingar Greenway tomorrow, the latest section of the Dublin Galway Greenway, we are showcasing some amazing video footage of Moate station. Footage courtesy of Briain Smyth on Youtube. Enjoy And for a reminder of the before and after, here's a video of the "before". Well done to all the volunteers and to Westmeath council for such amazing work. Here's to a very successful greenway!!

Dublin City Council have moved a step closer to the construction of the Royal Canal Premium Cycle Route - Phase 2 by issuing a tender for a Ground Investigation Contract. The tender, that has appeared on mytenders.ie , is for the provision of  ground investigation work, ground investigation services and site-investigation services. This cycle route will complete the capital’s section of the proposed national cycle route from Dublin to Galway, which will be Ireland’s contribution to the EuroVelo Route 2 extending across Europe to Russia. In Dublin city a section of just 350m from Guild Street to Sheriff Street where the canal meets the Liffey, has been completed, and in Fingal a 2km section from Ashtown to the 12th lock in Castleknock opened last year. The new 7km path will bridge the gap between these two sections. The two-way path will start on the left bank of the canal at Sheriff Street lifting bridge and will stay on this side until just after Binns Bridge in Drumcondra,

Ireland's latest world-class greenway (Athlone to Mullingar) is on a disused railway line that last saw serious action as a location for a movie starring 007 legend Sean Connery - 1979's The Great Train Robbery.  According to reports in the Irish Independent by journalist Claire Mc Cormack ,  four decades after the collapse of rail services between Mullingar, Moate and Athlone, the historic corridor has been reconnected by a new bicycle track - 40km long and three metres wide .  Next weekend the T aoiseach will be on hand to open t he next phase of the Dublin to Galway cycleway. Enda Kenny will be in Westmeath to open the new 40 km cycleway that will once again connect the midland towns of Athone and Mullingar. Apparently, the new route, which is open already to the public, is already attracting a large interest from local users. According to the reports Barry Kehoe, director of services for transport and economic development at Westmeath County Council, said the pr

According to the Dublin Gazette   the historic Shackleton’s Gardens in Clonsilla could potentially become a major tourist attraction on the Dublin Galway Greenway, There is a plan by Fingal Council to take ownership of Shackleton’s Gardens in Clonsilla in the coming weeks with a €415,000 redevelopment plan to start soon after. The gardens, behind Clonsilla train station and on the banks of the Royal canal, were once ranked among the top four gardens for herbaceous borders in Britain and Ireland. The gardens contain a wide range of rare and exotic plants collected from all over the world by the famous adventurer but in recent years they have fallen into disrepair, It is hope that the gardens will be an important tourist stop along the Royal Canal which is now being upgraded as a greenway linking Dublin to the Shannon and on to Galway.

Our sources closest to the construction of the Mullingar to Athlone cycleway are indicating a mid October offical opening date. As of Friday evening (18th Sep), the base layer was finished to within 4km of Athlone, with the finished layer completed to about a mile of Moate Station. Its a serious job. Some of the bridges are also finished with hand railing. Topsoiling is finished to Castletown. Here's a sneek peek courtesy of a facebook user. "Pretty impressive stuff. Some beautiful bridges and tunnels along the route. Past half way point yesterday. No official..." Posted by Brian Golden

The Galway Cycling Campaign has called on the Minister for Transport, Mr. Paschal Donohoe TD, to reject IFA proposals to put a local section of an international greenway beside the old N6.  Controversy has erupted about the routing of the Galway section of the Eurovelo 2 cycling route.  The route is meant to start in Galway and end in Moscow and much of the mainland sections are already in place. Conflict has arisen between the IFA and the NRA who have proposed to CPO farmers’ land to construct the route.  The cyclists say both sides are at fault with the NRA approach viewed as poorly managed and divisive.  The county council and NRA seem to have ignored standard methods for providing such routes without splitting farms. The cyclists accept that the appointment of the NRA to lead the project has been highly questionable and that the NRA involvement has not been positive.  However, the IFA suggestion of putting a Greenway beside a busy road is equally flawed and would make the count