Belclare to Murrisk Greenway landowners ‘have a free roll of the dice’
New report highlights the social and economic benefits of the Belclare to Murrisk Greenway in Mayo's Clew Bay
A new report on the Belclare to Murrisk Greenway has highlighted the potential economic and social benefits to Louisburgh and surrounding communities.
Noting that now is a pivotal moment for the future of this project, the report was written to provide clarity over how the process worked and to establish the facts.
Wanting to understand all viewpoints, the Louisburgh Concerned Citizens Group compiled the report.
“There were a lot of ‘emotionally charged’ statements and I didn’t know what the facts were”, Carl O’Grady, member of the Louisburgh Community Futures Group, told The Mayo News.
The report was issued to all affected parties before being published and we amended its contents as per each group's requests.
‘A free role of the dice’
As plans progress for the proposed extension of the Great Western Greenway from Murrisk and later to Roonagh Harbour, attention is increasingly turning to the people most directly affected by the project ― the landowners whose cooperation will ultimately determine whether the greenway can move forward.
The current stage of the process has highlighted a deeper question facing the community: how to balance the wider public good with the very personal impact on families whose land lies along the preferred route.
“We understand the gravity of what we are asking of the affected landowners,” Carl O’Grady told The Mayo News.
“We understand the gravity of what we are asking for, from the affected landowners, and do so reluctantly in consideration of the enormous benefit that the Greenway can deliver socially and economically for our communities. We understand that certain people don't want to participate, but there's also an understanding that there is no statutory obligation of CPO on the table, because Part 8 has not been passed. So, the effective landowners have a free roll of the dice. They can engage with the project liaison officer and try to move the route to suit their needs.”
“There is no threat to CPO over anybody at this moment in time. So, what we're asking for them to do is to engage, to see if they can help us find a path forward. That's what we're asking.”
“If we all just, first and foremost, stop for a second and not think about anything else except the gravity of what this project can deliver for the broader community. From a social point of view, a health point of view, and from an economic point of view. If we can all just accept that, and then say, okay, we understand the gravity of what we're asking landowners to do and we believe that they should be celebrated,” he said.
“We believe that the landowners on the Greenway to Achill that participated in that project should be celebrated. These guys gave their land over under permissive access, with no remuneration at all. They were not remunerated for the loss of their payments nor for the capital value of the strip of land that they gave over to the permissive access use. They need to be celebrated for doing that.”
One proposal would see the erection of signs along the strips of greenway whose landowners engage and participate in these community projects, identifying their names in celebration of their contribution.
North-South economic divide in Clew Bay
The report notes that between 2016 and 2023, the existing Great Western Greenway between Westport and Achill attracted approximately 1.6 million users, generating €36 million for the local economy, €8.6 million in tax receipts, and supporting over 110 jobs annually.
It lists, what it calls the ‘significant benefits’, that the Greenway delivers for Newport as increased tourism and economic growth through visitors who support local businesses like cafes, hotels, and bike hire companies.
It contrasts those opportunities with Louisburgh, “on the opposite side of the bay and similar in distance to Westport Town, has seen its last manufacturer, Nomadic Display close and retail/services steadily decline to a point where there are very few businesses left in the town. Louisburgh once had 68 businesses operating in and around the town. Today there are roughly 16. There is no hotel, bar / restaurant, barber, hairdresser, bank, cloths shop, laundry service, or bakery.”
It notes a projected €17–26 million boost to the Belclare to Murrisk economy that the current phase of the Greenway could deliver within the first decade, according to the Failte Ireland Report June 2025.
The report also highlights the experience from the existing Greenway, which has shown the scale of what such infrastructure can deliver. While approximately 69% of users are locals, generating just 6% of overall revenue, approximately 23% of users are visitors and tourists generating 89% of economic return. This balance highlights the Greenway’s capacity to serve both community wellbeing and sustainable regional development.
As previously reported by The Mayo News, the future of a €15million hotel development in Murrisk is also linked to the extension of the Greenway.
Lines on a map
Driving from Westport to Louisburgh, the “NO TO CPO” placards get right to the heart of the opposition of some of the landowners potentially affected by the Greenway.
This report details the various steps and mechanisms that have to be gone through before a CPO is considered.
It notes that “the process seeks to safeguard landowner rights while enabling the wider community benefits of the Greenway.”
The preferred route maps a very broad outline for the pathway. The map marks out a 200 meter wide channel for the proposed Greenway but the actual route would only be five meters wide.
So there is large scope for alterations to be made to the route to suit the landowners and allows for “flexibility, following the natural contours of the land and adapting wherever possible to minimise disruption to farms and properties.”
Community groups in favour of the project say this stage is less about drawing lines on maps and more about building trust.
They argue that technical procedures alone cannot address the emotional weight carried by those who may be asked to accommodate the route, and that consistent engagement and honest conversation are essential if progress is to be made.
For that reason, the focus for the community groups in favour of the Greenway extension is increasingly shifting toward inviting affected landowners to become part of the solution rather than being seen as obstacles to it. Supporters of the project say the intention is not to impose a route, but to shape one together ― using consultation, mediation, corrective works, and compensation to find a path that respects individual circumstances while still delivering a project that could benefit the entire region.
Those involved describe the current moment as a turning point. The preferred corridor between Belclare and Murrisk has been identified, but the final form of the Greenway will depend on the willingness of all sides to stay at the table.
The report will be published in the coming days on the Louisburgh-Killeen Heritage website.
A community day to celebrate the potential of the Greenway and to celebrate the potential landowners participation in this community project is planned in the coming months.