Galway to Moscow Greenway

Galway to Moscow Greenway

The Galway to Athlone Cycleway will complete the circa 270 km car-free corridor between Galway and Dublin for cyclists and walkers.

The project is being led by the local authorities, Galway City Council and Galway, Roscommon and Westmeath County Councils.

Consultants, RPS from Galway, were appointed in 2020 to start with a blank canvas to identify a project study area and constraints. This work is being informed by public consultation before the project team undertakes environmental studies and detailed design.

Virtual Consultation

A planning application will then be prepared for An Bord Pleanála’s consideration in around three years’ time. The project team appreciates that there is an impact on landholdings and wants to assure landowners that it is listening and will do all it can to work with them to manage that impact. That is why it is important for landowners to engage with the project team to ensure they can inform the design from the earliest stages.

The Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport is developing the National and Regional Greenways across Ireland to enhance tourism and contribute to rural development.

The new Galway to Athlone Cycleway is a large section of the Galway to Dublin Cycleway that will extend to 270km, making it Ireland’s longest Cycleway so far.  The Galway to Dublin Cycleway will be a world-class amenity for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users to enjoy – locals and tourists alike.It will even facilitate the first leg of the international EuroVelo network of long-distance cycling trails in Europe and will link Galway to Moscow!

Key Objectives:

The project aims to:

  • Maximise the value of existing infrastructure and natural amenity
  • Protect areas of environmental sensitivity through the design process and in future maintenance and management
  • Develop a tourism experience that caters for a broad range of visitors
  • Be designed to international best practice and in accordance with adopted standards
  • Give regular access to visitor attractions and services along the corridor
  • Be connected with public transport hubsBe in line with the Government’s five ‘S’ criteria –
  • Scenic, Sustainable, Strategic, Segregated and See and Do,

in conjunction with environmental, engineering and financial considerations.

Portumna become the first town to go Live on xplore local app

Portumna become the first town to go Live on xplore local app

The Wild Geese East Galway have partnered with Booniverse Limited since 2019 with the specific goal of raising the profiles of the main towns and villages of East Galway.  Our vision was first muted at a presentation at Portumna Castle in July 2019 where Booniverse Agency demonstrated the features and functionality and community benefits of the app to local business, services and folks.

It gives us great pleasure to announce that Portumna is the first town in East Galway to go live on the xplore local app. A group of enterprising local TY students and university students volunteered and worked assiduously on the backend gathering and inputting the data on each local business and local attraction.

The app has community at its heart and in addition to promoting local business, the xplore local app will include the following features designed to promote our towns both to local tourists, and, as we slowly emerge and recover from the pandemic to all visitors.

A mobile digital infrastructure for the towns of East Galway is central to the ongoing strategy of the Wild Geese Taskforce enabling us to:

  • support and promote local business
  • engage with and build communities
  • promote local, national and international tourism
  • build modern community alerts and notices
  • pitch our towns on the national and international stage as a place to live and work remotely

Already, the self-guided tours, interactive hikes, and trails are proving popular with communities during the very restrictive measures imposed by the pandemic.

Nobody would dispute that 2020 had more than its fair share of darkness. But when we look back at all the dark aspects of 2020 and turn them over, we see that some have light on the other side.

2020 was a crucible, a time of immense trials and unspeakable losses that has also created unforeseen possibilities for change. We’re in the midst of a winter that, as experts predicted, will be dark. But with vaccines being rolled out, and with the winter solstice now behind us, each day gives us a bit more light.

The pandemic may have put a sudden stop to travel, commuting, sporting events, dining out, and seeing our friends whenever and wherever we wanted. But it also made us realise how many parts of our frenetic, harried, and over-scheduled lives just weren’t necessary.

Throughout the lockdown, social media and news outlets have inundated us with stories and images of nature “returning” to our cities and towns, with dolphins swimming in the canals of Venice. In parks and green spaces, new desire paths have quickly developed as people make their own routes in the urban landscape.

We relished these images because they were shining beacons of light in the darkness. The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you but try and adapt, make some good things happen (within your 5km!)

For not only will you fill your world with hope, but you will also fill yourself with hope. What we all hope will endure after the pandemic is the deeper human engagement with the natural world so many of us experienced during the lockdown and close-knit communities.

The pandemic may have shut down much of the human-controlled part of the world, but, thankfully, nature hasn’t gotten the message. Birds still chirp, flowers burst into bloom and gentle breezes still sway the trees.

Here in Portumna, our lush and verdant forest has had a renaissance. Our lake so tranquil and vibrant every morning welcomes the locals seeking comfort and joy swimming early in the morning. The gifts of nature are endless. We used to dream about escaping our ordinary life, but life was never ordinary. We simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was.

So take this opportunity to rediscover the extraordinary in your home town, support local and xplore local. I think Hippocrates said it best:

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity

Hippocrates

Sustained! 1.2 million for Portumna Courthouse

Sustained! 1.2 million for Portumna Courthouse

The Wild Geese welcomed the announcement that €1.2 million has been allocated to Portumna from the Department for the pre-development works to conserve and restore Portumna Courthouse to its former glory and begin a new life as for:

  • Enterprise Hub
  • Community Arts Centre
  • Tourism Hub
  • Courtyard Cafe

as well as plans to significantly improve the public realm and streetscape in partnership with local stakeholders.

Portumna, one of Galway’s most idyllic towns, secured the funding from the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF ) administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is a commitment by the Government to invest €1 billion euro in rural Ireland over the period 2019-2027.  The funding will provide a serious boost to Portumna and surrounds, serving to enhance local tourism and drive inward investment into the region as a whole.

Improving the tourism offering of the town will not only help  readily market Portumna to a wider audience both at home and abroad but benefit the entire County as a whole. This is very welcome news for Portumna, for Galwegians and for County Galway.  Portumna emerged from a very competitive national process. This will be key in unlocking the untapped potential in both Portumna and increasing inward investment and growth.

The Economic, Rural and Community Development Unit and newly formed Regeneration Team in the Council will be working closely with all key stakeholders including the communities, the wild geese task force and state agencies to develop a series of projects that will deliver a range of benefits across a number of sectors.

The project will amplify Portumna as an emerging tourism destination as well as warm, welcoming communities in which to live and will also place a strong emphasis on way-finding and interpretation to animate the burgeoning visitor experience within the town with plans to integrate Portumna’s unique heritage assets with the stunning tranquillity and scenery of Portumna Forest Park and Lough Derg,

An ambitious plan that promotes the natural, cultural and heritage assets of Portumna, Galway County Council; working in tandem with all stakeholders and community groups; hope to reimagine and ensure that Portumna develops as a key hub to visit in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.

Portumna has benefited from a multi-agency approach and current stakeholder relationships built on Galway’s longer-term engagement with the Lough Derg Marketing Group.

“‘Portumna Vision 2030’ was initiated by Galway County Council, Fáilte Ireland and Waterways Ireland and has been closely supported by the Office of Public Works, The Department of Arts, Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Coillte and Inland Fisheries Ireland who are committed to an imaginative strategic vision for Portumna.  In addition to the funds that the Council secured for Portumna itself, it is great news that Failte Ireland also secured €300,000 funding for the development of the Beara Breifne Way under the same programme as this will also add value to the offering to the town and the region once developed.

Portumna has huge potential as a town and the Wild Geese look forward to driving the development opportunities and to continuing to work collaboratively with all the partners to achieve it, knowing that the result of the sum of our plans is far greater than the individual elements.