Great Southern Trail

The Great Southern Trail, comprising the Limerick Greenway and North Kerry Greenway, is a greenway rail trail under development in County Limerick and County Kerry in Ireland. It is intended to be 85 kilometres (53 miles) long when completed and run from Limerick to Tralee.[1] It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers along the route of the Limerick-Tralee line, formerly operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway, which opened between 1867 and 1880 and was closed in 1977.[1] As of 2021, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the route between Rathkeale and Abbeyfeale had been developed.[2] The developed section of the trail passes through Ardagh, Newcastle West and Barnagh.[3]

Great Southern Trail
Length85 km (53 mi)
LocationCounties Limerick & Kerry, Ireland
TrailheadsLimerick, Tralee
UseCycling and Walking
Hiking details
SeasonAny
SurfaceTarmacadam (Limerick Greenway), Mud track (North Kerry Greenway)
Websitewww.southerntrail.net

The voluntary group Great Southern Trail Ltd has developed the trail for 20 years, at an estimated cost of €1 million (as of 2011).[4] They were awarded a special jury prize by the European Greenways Association at the 2011 European Greenways Awards in recognition of their efforts to develop the greenway between 1991 and 2011.[5]

Development of the trail has run into some difficulties, particularly in keeping the land (which was owned by the Irish transport authority CIÉ) in public ownership, and addressing the expectations of some local landowners and householders - who feared crime and lack of use for it.[6]

In early 2013, a group of walkers commemorating the 50th anniversary of the last passenger train between Limerick and Tralee, were blocked at the Kerry border by a group of local landowners opposing the continued development of this trail into County Kerry.[7] It was subsequently established that CIE owns the line and that the landowners have no claim to the trail.[8] From 2016,[9] CIÉ transferred ownership of the line to Kerry County Council for further development of the trail towards Listowel, pending future funding becoming available.[10]

Limerick City and County Council assumed responsibility for the management and maintenance of the Great Southern Trail in November 2015 [11] and in 2019 completed the incorporation of the Barnagh Tunnel into the route. This involved the construction of an underpass under the N21 Limerick to Tralee road.[12]

Limerick Greenway

The 40 km (25 mi) section of the trail within County Limerick, known as the Limerick Greenway,[13] was completed in June 2021, funded by Fáilte Ireland and the Departments of Transport and Rural and Community Development.[2][14] The 115 metre-long Barnagh tunnel was renovated for the greenway.[15] The Garryduff viaduct also comprises a section of the greenway.[15] The greenway stretches from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale.[16] It forms part of the EuroVelo Atlantic Coast Route (EV 1).[17][18]

North Kerry Greenway

The North Kerry Greenway is due to form the western section of the Great Southern trail. As of January 2022, it was expected to be completed by summer 2022.[19][10][20][21] It is due to link to the Tralee-Fenit Greenway close to Tralee.

See also

References
  1. "Home". SouthernTrail.net. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  2. O'Brien, Tim. "Former west Limerick railway line reopens as 40km greenway". The Irish Times.
  3. "Great Southern Trail Map" (pdf). SouthernTrail.net. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  4. McDonald, Frank (18 August 2011). "Minister urged to act over CIÉ land row". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  5. Reidy, Marisa (14 September 2011). "Leaving a trail of honours at awards in France". The Kerryman. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  6. Prendiville, Norma (17 September 2011). "Great Southern Trail Wins Special Jury Prize in European Greenways Association Award Scheme" (PDF). Limerick Leader. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  7. "Walkers blocked from entering Kerry on old rail line". Radio Kerry. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  8. "CIE says it owns north Kerry rail line". Radio Kerry. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. "Cllr. Kennelly welcomes the official update on the North Kerry Greenway Line". TheAdvertiser.ie. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  10. "Part VIII – North Kerry Greenway". KerryCoCo.ie. June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  11. "Limerick council to assume management of Great Southern Trail". Limerick Leader. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  12. "Barnagh Tunnel is now part of Great Southern Greenway". Limerick Leader. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  13. "Limerick Greenway". SouthernTrail.ie. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  14. Scully, Meghann (30 June 2021). "€10 million Limerick Greenway opens to the public". LimerickPost.ie.
  15. "Ministers put their rivalries aside to try out new Limerick Greenway". LimerickLeader.ie. 23 June 2021.
  16. Halloran, Cathy (1 July 2021). "€10m Limerick greenway opens today" – via RTÉ News. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. "Republic of Ireland - EuroVelo". EuroVelo.
  18. "About Newcastle West". Limerick.ie.
  19. "Councillors approve plans for development of North Kerry Greenway project". KerryCoCo.ie.
  20. "Co Kerry's 19.8-mile Greenway gets go ahead in major tourism boost". IrishCentral.com. 17 November 2020.
  21. "Two Kerry greenways set to open in June". RadioKerry.ie. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.

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