Great Western Greenway to link up with north Mayo

COMMENCEMENT Part of the Greenway known as the Clew Bay Trail under construction between Bertra and Murrisk.

Anton McNulty

FΡilte Ireland have approved the funding for a €2.1 million 56km cycle track through the Ballycroy National Park linking the Great Western Greenway to Ballycastle.
The funding for the project was announced last week and when completed will see the upgrading of the existing Western Way to a grade three cycle/walk track from the Great Western Greenway through the National Park to Ballycastle in North Mayo.
The project is part of FΡilte Ireland’s strategic partnership with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to achieve the aims of further developing quality visitor experiences at Ireland’s National Parks.
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, TD, welcomed the major investment for the county.
“The investment will further open up the Wild Nephin to potentially thousands of international visitors who come to Ireland to participate in walking, hiking and cycling holidays. With an expected increase in visitor numbers following completion of the works, it will also provide economic opportunities for a range of local tourism businesses including accommodation providers, restaurants, bike hire, guiding and outdoor pursuits,” he said.
The funding announcement also coincided with the renaming of the National Park from Ballycroy National Park to the Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park. The park comprises of 15,000 hectares of Atlantic blanket bog, forestry and mountainous terrain, covering a vast uninhabited and unspoilt wilderness dominated by Nephin Beg mountain range. In 2017, Coillte agreed to transfer their Wild Nephin land holding to NPWS, extending Ballycroy National Park and offering new opportunities for visitors to enjoy the landscape.

Westport to Louisburgh Greenway
Meanwhile the construction of the first phase of the Westport to Louisburgh Greenway finally got underway last week, a year after funding was announced for the project.
Westport-based councillor Christy Hyland welcomed commencement of work on the Bertra to Murrisk section of the greenway which will be known as the Clew Bay Trail. In July 2017, Minister Ring allocated €984,000 under the Outdoor Recreational Infrastructure Programme to develop phase one of the 18km Clew Bay Trail, which will eventually link Louisburgh with the Great Western Greenway in Westport.
Last year, Mayo County Council announced that the project will be split into phases with phase one from Bertra to Murrisk and the other from Old Head to Louisburgh.
Commenting on the work Cllr Hyland said: “The construction started last week on the Bertra to Murrisk section and I was delighted to see it because I have been lobbying for work to start for some time. The Great Western Greenway has shown that these trails bring a lot of people into areas and this can only be positive for tourism and business. I would like to thank the Minister and the department for allocating the money and the local people for their co-operation. I look forward to seeing the completion of the trail from seeing people walking and cycling between Westport and Louisburgh,” he said.