Dublin Galway Greenway

The Dublin Galway Greenway project has taken a significant step forward with the opening of the Royal Canal Greenway between Glasnevin and Drumcondra. Dublin City Council official announced that the majority of the linear park along the Royal Canal, between Cross Guns Bridge and Binns Bridge, was opened to the public on Friday, July 19, 2024. Reopening Details This first phase of the reopening includes: - The entire northern towpath alongside the railway line. - The new pedestrian and cycle bridge at Lock 3. - The southern towpath between Glengarriff Parade and the former Spain’s warehouse (to the rear of Saint Ignatius Road). The remaining section of the southern towpath, from the former Spain’s warehouse to Binns Bridge, will reopen after the completion of the Dorset Street Lower toucan crossing at Binns Bridge. Enhancing Urban Connectivity The newly opened section provides an essential link in Dublin's urban cycling and walking infrastructure. It runs along the Royal Canal, offe...

  Kildare County Council has said that Glas Civil Engineering Ltd are continuing works on the Royal Canal Greenway scheme from Louisa Bridge, Leixlip to Maynooth Harbour. The council explained: "As part of these works, upgrade works will be carried out on the R406 Straffan Road at Mullen Bridge in Maynooth starting from the July 8, 2024. "Traffic management will be in place for these works." General arrangement drawings for the scheme can be viewed at the following link: kildare Council Project Site Thanks to the Leinster Leader for the update.

credit: shannonside.ie The next round of consultation on the Dublin to Galway Greenway is taking place this week  The preferred route for the Galway to Athlone Cycleway project has been identified.  Four public information events to display the preferred route will be held in County Galway from March 28-31. The highly-scenic cycleway, which connects to the existing Dublin Athlone Greenway, is intended to form part of an international network of long-distance cycling trails in Europe. Landowners, farmers, cyclists, those in the hospitality industry and the wider community are all invited to view the preferred route for the 205 km stretch.  Representatives of the project team will be on hand to answer questions about the route at each event.The public information events, open from 3pm to 8pm, will take place at the: Oranmore: Oranmore Lodge Hotel, Tuesday 28th March at 3-8pm Gort: Lady Gregory Hotel, Wednesday 29th March at 3-8pm Portumna: Town Hall, Thursday 30th March at ...

  The Royal Canal Greenway is an exciting new project aimed at connecting Dublin and Galway by a continuous walking and cycling path.  The latest phase of the Royal Canal Greenway, Phase 3, between North Strand Road (Newcomen Bridge) and Phibsborough Road (Cross Guns Bridge), is a significant addition to the Dublin Galway Greenway, and work has now started on this exciting new project.   The Royal Canal Greenway Phase 3 will provide a safe and accessible route for cyclists and walkers, connecting communities and providing a new and sustainable way to travel. The Greenway will also be a new and unique attraction for tourists and locals alike, offering the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the countryside and experience the history of the Royal Canal.  The new Greenway will be well-lit and will feature many new and exciting amenities such as seating, picnic areas, and bike racks, making it a safe and enjoyable place to spend time. Additionally, it will also provi...

In September 2012, Leo Varadkar the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, proposed the first off-road cross-country cycle route. “ Ireland doesn’t have a cross-country, off-road cycle route, and this would have significant potential to be marketed internationally and attract new tourists who may want to walk or cycle across Ireland ” - Minister Varadkar said. Ten years on, Ireland still does not have a cross-country greenway. Has the project died? Will it ever happen? What has this project delivered? What have we learned? Back in 2012, Ireland was in the depths of a recession following the global financial crisis. Tourism appeared to be one of the only shining lights in Ireland’s economy. Leo Varadkar was a rising star in the Fine Gael party and, as a newly appointed minister, he was quick to announce various tourism initiatives such as the extension of the 9% VAT rate for tourism, the “Gathering”, a global call to the Irish diaspora to return to Ireland during 2013 and the first ...

The new pedestrian and cycle bridge, between the Radisson Hotel and the Luan Gallery, is to be lifted into place from the end of this month. According to the Westmeath Independent, on Tuesday, August 30, and Wednesday, August 31, the first section of bridge is to be be floated downstream from Wansboro Field on an 18 metre x 18 metre pontoon, which will be manoeuvred by two tugs. Waterways Ireland has said that the navigation channel in the vicinity of the bridge works would continue to be restricted until the end of September.

  The Dublin Galway Greenway blog has learned that a decision is imminent on the preferred route from Athlone to Galway. This route section is the final jigsaw piece of the coast to coast greenway which is a strategic priority by the government. Several news outlets are reporting today that a preferred route has been selected. The greenway team are due to meet local councillors tomorrow to explain the decision and a further public consultation will then take place. Galway Bay FM are reporting that Route 5 has been selected. This route would see the route go from Athlone to Shannon bridge , Clonfert, Meelick and Eyrecourt before going on via Portumna, Clarinbridge and Oranmore. Many supporters of the other proposed route will be disappointed if the rumoured route is in fact route 5. Local representative Ciaran Cannon is calling for the government to link up the villages and towns on the other links to the national greenway network. As of now (Monday Dec 6th) it is still n...

  Photo courtesy of https://www.waterwaysireland.org/ The official launch of the Royal Canal Greenway will take place on Wednesday 24th March 2021. Due to Covid19, this launch event will be a virtual one. Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister Malcolm Noonan will be in attendance for this online launch. The Royal Canal greenway is part of the Eurovelo 2 capitals route that will run from Moscow to Galway when complete. This section of the Eurovelo 2 greenway runs from Maynooth in Co. Kildare to Cloondara in Co. Longford. In total it is 130km long of level tow path which is ideal for both walkers and cyclists. The Royal Canal Greenway traverses 4 counties in total including Kildare, Meath, Westmeath and Longford. Each of the 4 counties are jointly working on launching and marketing this new greenway in partnership with Waterways Ireland. While the entire route from Dublin to Longford is yet to be completed this is still a significant new addition to Irelands growing network of greenw...

  After a five-year pause, the Galway to Athlone Cycleway is being developed with a fresh new start. New consultants, RPS, have been appointed and given a blank canvas to develop a route for the cycleway Public Consultation No.2 started on January 25th 2021 and run for 5 weeks until 1st March 2021. Due to current health restrictions, a physical consultation event is not possible but the Consultation can be accessed in the Virtual Consultation Room  Here

The Westmeath indepentent are reporting that the next phase of the Dublin Galway greenway could be opened by Easter. The upcoming phase, just a kilometre in length, extends the Dublin to Galway Greenway from the Whitegates in Athline into town adjacent to the Radisson Blu Hotel. This is a prerequisite for the next more complex and costly section which will see a new bridge built over the River Shannon to take cyclists over to Athlone Castle. According to the tender documents, the next phase will consist of earthworks and paving works for the cycleway track along the route, along with new culvert works, landscaping, installation of public lighting, electrical works, and traffic signalling works. In another exciting development Michael Kelly, Senior Executive Engineer from Westmeath County Council's National Roads Office told the paper that “the bridge (across the Shannon) is at detailed design stage and it's hoped to go tender on that in early 2021” 

The Galway to Athlone Greenway Project Office will hold a series of public engagement events in early August 2020 to give members of the public a first opportunity to discuss the greenway design with members of the design team. The event details are as follows; Shamrock Lodge Hotel Athlone - Monday 10th August, Shearwater Hotel Ballinasloe - Tuesday 11th August, Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry - Wednesday 12th August, Loughrea Hotel - Thursday 13th August, Maldron Hotel, Oranmore - Friday 14th August. All of the events will take place from 11am - 8pm on each day, offering ample opportunity for the public to participate. In addition, members of the public can make submissions by emailing the team at info@galwaytoathlonecycleway.com and members of the design team are available to meet by appointment at the Ballinasloe Project Office.

In a significant move for the Dublin Galway greenway, Ballinasloe has been selected as the location for the office that will oversee the project. In July 2019, Senator Maura Hopkins called for the public office for the Athlone to Galway Greenway to be located in the East Galway town. While there had been previous local opposition to the greenway in Galway, it is hoped that the Ballinasloe to Athlone section of the greenway can move ahead in 2020. Consultants have been appointed to oversee the project for building the bridge over the Shannon. Having a local office in Ballinasloe may also help encourage local support for the Greenway across east Galway. Due to entrenched opposition, the section of the Dublin Galway Greenway through Galway was paused back in 2015 by the then minister of transport Pascal Donohue. Funds for the project were reallocated to the royal canal greenway in Kildare and Meath. These sections have now been completed which means that there is a continuous greenway ...

According to recent reports in the Shannonaide news, a new bridge across the Shannon in Athlone for the Dublin Galway greenway will open in two years. This is according to Michael Kelly, who’s a senior executive engineer with Westmeath council, and who’s co-ordinating the entire greenway from Dublin to Galway. Works are taking place this weekend to make an underpass for the greenway under a railway bridge, and this will then allow work to begin to bring the cycling and walking trail from just outside the town right into the centre, and down to Athlone marina.

At the launch of the highly anticipated greenway strategy last week Minister Shane Ross announced €53m funding for Greenways and highlighted his renewed focus on completing the Dublin Galway Greenway. Dublin to Galway greenway is the centrepiece of the Government’s National Greenway Strategy. (Sorry for repost - better picture) https://t.co/am2W5uJhnR pic.twitter.com/vd6TLoeXYz — dublingalwaygreenway (@dublingalwaygw) July 20, 2018 The new greenway strategy sets out to defined what are strategic, national and regional greenways. Greenways of over 100km in length will be of national strategic importance and will be given priority in funding. The Dublin Galway greenway is being highlighted as of strategic importance and Ross said that “It is certainly our ambition that there will be at least one greenway that is coast to coast,” and later explained that tourism research indicted the need for such a project and stating his preference for a Dublin to Galway route. The minister...

It was announced this week , that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) will be handed the lead role in delivering the remaining sections of the Dublin Galway Greenway. It is hoped the TII's expertise in delivering national infrastructure projects and their ability to negotiate with landowners will help break the current empass. Furthermore, the dept of Transport and Tourism will soon release it's national greenway strategy which is likely to address how best farmers and landowners can be adequately consulted with and compensated for route options. Plans for the western end of the coast to coast greenway were halted in 2015 as landowners in West Galway strongly opposed the routing of the route through their land holdings. The then minister of transport, Paschal Donohoe, decided to pause the project and direct the allocated funding to the eastern end of the project. Kildare, Meath councils were allocated funds to complete their section of the Royal Canal Greenway which as...

The following update is thanks to Cllr. Ray McAdam on his website . "Since my last update on the delivery of a dedicated cycle and pedestrian route along the Royal Canal, a number of issues have arisen which have delayed construction work on the project to begin. Dublin City Council has added the upgrade of a road junction to the Phase II programme of works. The initial phase of the tendering process has now been completed with Council officials expecting the second stage to start in November. All going to plan, it is anticipated that construction can begin on March 29th 2018. In terms of Phase III of the project, between the North Strand Road and the Phibsborough Road, the Council has had to review the documentation surrounding the cost of the project, meaning that tender documents should now be issued in December 2017. It is anticipated that the Contractor will be on site before the end of April 2018. The project requires certain approvals from Waterways Ireland. We hav...

According to Minister Ross, the eagerly awaited public consultation on future greenway development will begin in the coming days. Minister Ross has had discussions on the proposed approach with many stakeholder including the Cabinet Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs. In response to a Dail question, he said that he will be launching a public consultation process in the coming days to inform the development of the Strategy and all interested parties will have the opportunity to give their views  as part of the public consultation process.  The public consultation process will last for 6 weeks and he is urging all those interested in the subject to submit their views on it.  These will be taken into account in finalising the Strategy and he expects that this will be completed and the Strategy published by the end of the year.

“By 2018, it will be possible to cycle from Dublin to Athlone almost entirely off-road thanks to Greenways" say Minister Ross who was speaking at the opening of the latest section of the Dublin Galway greenway. Minister Ross was at the opening of the Garrycastle to Whitegates National Cycle Network in Athlone on Friday 7th April. The project is an extension of the 42km Mullingar to Athlone Greenway officially opened in 2015, which in turn is part of the Dublin to Galway Greenway. The 2.2km cycleway/greenway from Garrycastle to Whitegates was completed by Westmeath County Council after it was awarded €496,187 in July, 2016 from a reallocation of National Cycle Network. The fund was reallocated from the western end of the Dublin Galway greenway which has met opposition from landowners. Minister Ross was particularly supportive and impressed with the forward thinking approach of the Westmeath, Longford, Meath and kildare councils in looking to these new cycle-ways as a...

The Dublin Galway greenway in Westmeath, Longford, Kildare and Meath have featured highly in a recent list of projects funded by government since 2009. Responding to a Dail question from TD Jan O'Sullivan, Minister Ross released details of greenway projects. While not all of these are off-road, Minister Ross went on to say that "the projects constructed to date with funding from my Department are a mix of on-road and off-road and while some cannot be considered 'greenways' in the strictest sense they do feed into the expansion of a network of cycle routes" The counties of Longford, Westmeath, Meath and Kildare featured highly in the funded projects and it is clear from the information that these counties have made considerable progress once the funding became available. The entry in 2012 for a cycleway on the N6 will be of particular interest to followers of this blog. Objectors to the East Galway section of the greenway such as the IFA have suggested ...

Thanks to the  recent launch of Google Maps Lists, we have decided to start using Google Maps to help our readers discover the Dublin Galway Greenway.  You can access a list of parking locations on the link below.  https://www.google.com/maps/ placelists/list/1MKN_ QGYRbFtf9l3Ybogzksln650 Please note that some of these locations are not formal public parking locations and may be simply a verge on the side of the road. So please be considerate to other road users and land owners when using any of these locations.  Please be aware that the authors of this blog strongly recommend safe parking and obey all traffic laws and landownership rules.