Greenway guidebook launched in Westport

Greenway guidebook launched


Ciara Moynihan
ciaramoynihan@mayonews.ie

‘The Great Western Greenway’, by Iris Galloway, was launched recently at the Clew Bay Hotel, Westport. The book is a comprehensive, full-colour, step-by-step guide to walking and cycling the Greenway, and the route’s history, flora and fauna.
Divided into three sections – Westport to Newport, Newport to Mulranny and Mulranny to Achill – the 200-page pocket-sized guide includes hand-drawn maps, beautiful images, historical detail and many stories about the people who lived and are living along the Greenway.  
Speaking at the launch, Cllr Tereasa McGuire, Leas Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council,  congratulated Galloway for “putting down on paper the folklore, the history of who it is we are, where we’ve been, where we are.”
The evening was hosted by Brian Quinn of FΡilte Ireland West, who spoke about the importance of the Great Western Greenway for the county’s tourism industry, and for Irish tourism generally.
Quinn said that the cycleway concept had ‘really taken off’ not just here, but in Europe, and that the Great Western Greenway forms an integral part of future plans: “There is a proposal within the EU that’s strongly developing now, for a cycleway to run from Norway to Portugal and along the west coast of Ireland, including our Great Western Greenway … There’s another European route being talked about too, a ‘cities route’ going from Galway, along the canal to Dublin, then on to Moscow – the first part of that whole route would be the Irish part.
“So hopefully we’ll have a commission shortly for Iris in term of the Greenway from Oughterard down to Clifden. In fact, it’s our ambition that we will have in place within five years a cycleway from Galway to Clifden, up to Westport and Achill, and on up to Belmullet and upward to Ballina. This would give us something like 150 kilometres, which would be really motivational for overseas tourists thinking about travelling to this country. There’s a huge market there.”
Delivering the keynote address, Fr MicheΡl MacGréil praised Iris Galloway’s ‘excellent’ guide, which he called a ‘multidimensional treasure’, and he thanked the local landowners, many of whom were present, for having the foresight to allow the route to be developed.
“The text shows how rewarding it is for us humans to respect and protect our physical environment. We will be always indebted to the farmers along the Greenway for the way they have succeeded in respecting nature down the years. The proof of that respect is in the lines of this book … Thousands of people will be indebted to Iris for revealing to us the ‘hidden gems’ of our western countryside,” he said.
‘The Great Western Greenway’, by Iris Galloway, was designed by former Mayo News Head of Design, Fergus Kelly, who now runs Ellipsis, a media and design consultancy and contracting agency (www.ellipsis.ie). Retailing at €12.99 it is available in local bookshops and online at www.greatwesterngreenwayguide.com.

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