Great Southern Trail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Length | 85 km (53 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Counties Limerick & Kerry, Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trailheads | Limerick, Tralee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Use | Cycling and walking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | Any | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Surface | Tarmacadam (Limerick Greenway), Mud track (North Kerry Greenway) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. As of October 2022, 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the Limerick Greenway and 10.5 kilometres (6.5 miles) of the North Kerry Greenway were completed. [1] When fully completed, the route is intended to be 85 kilometres (53 miles) long and run from Limerick to Tralee. [2] 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. [2]
A 40 km (25 mi) section of the trail within County Limerick, known as the Limerick Greenway, [3] [4] was completed in June 2021, funded by Fáilte Ireland and the Departments of Transport and Rural and Community Development. [5] [6] The 115 metre-long Barnagh tunnel was renovated for the greenway and is now accessible via a dedicated underpass. [7] Car parking, children's playground, 'crazy golf', bathrooms, bike hire, and a small restaurant are all available in the Barnagh Greenway Hub. [8] The cast-iron Ferguson's Viaduct also comprises a section of the greenway. [7] The greenway stretches from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale. [9] It forms part of the EuroVelo Atlantic Coast Route (EV 1). [10] [11] In the 10 months following its May 2021 reopening, the Limerick Greenway received 500,000 visitors. [12]
The North Kerry Greenway is due to form the western section of the Great Southern trail. [13] [14] As of May 2022, sections of the greenway were expected to be opened in phases during 2022. [15] A 10.5 km stretch of the route, between Listowel and the border between counties Kerry and Limerick, was opened by October 2022. [16] At the time of its opening, "temporary" carparking was opened at the Listowel trailhead. [17] When completed, the southern end of the North Kerry Greenway is due to link to the Tralee-Fenit Greenway close to Tralee, [18] forming a network known as the "Kingdom of Kerry Greenways". [19] [20] [21] [22]
Set up in 1991, [23] the Great Southern Trail Ltd voluntary group was involved in developing the trail for 20 years, at an estimated cost of €1 million (as of 2011). [24] 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. [23] Limerick City and County Council assumed responsibility for the management and maintenance of the Great Southern Trail in November 2015. [25]
Development of the trail ran into several difficulties, including questions of public land ownership, and the expectations of some other local landowners and householders. [26] 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 the trail into County Kerry. [27] It was subsequently established that CIÉ (the Irish transport authority) owned the line and that the landowners had no claim to the trail. [28] From 2016, [29] CIÉ transferred ownership of the line to Kerry County Council for further development of the trail towards Listowel, pending future funding becoming available. [13]
By 2019, Limerick council had completed the incorporation of the Barnagh Tunnel into the route, including the construction of an underpass under the N21 Limerick to Tralee road. [30] As of 2021, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the route between Rathkeale and Abbeyfeale had been developed. [5] This section of the trail passes through Ardagh, Newcastle West and Barnagh. [31] By October 2022, 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the Limerick Greenway and 10.5 kilometres (6.5 miles) of the North Kerry Greenway had been completed. [1]
County Kerry is a county on the southwest coast of Ireland, within the province of Munster and the Southern Region. It is bordered by two other counties; Limerick to the east, and Cork to the south and east. It is separated from Clare to the north by the Shannon Estuary. With an area of 4,807 square kilometres (1,856 sq mi) and a population of 156,458 as of 2022, it is the 5th largest of Ireland's 32 counties by land area, and the 15th most populous. The governing local authority is Kerry County Council.
Tralee is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County Kerry. The town's population was 26,079 as of the 2022 census, making it the 15th largest urban settlement in Ireland. Tralee is known for the Rose of Tralee International Festival, which has been held annually in August since 1959.
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.
Listowel is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, 28 km (17 mi) from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census, the third largest in the county. Listowel is also the name of a townland within the town and an encompassing civil parish.
Rathkeale is a town in west County Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, County Kerry, and lies on the River Deel. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.
Newcastle West or simply Newcastle is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city. It is also the county town, and sits on the River Arra which flows into the River Deel. Newcastle West is in the middle of a great bowl-shaped valley in West Limerick, known one time as the valley of the Wild Boar, apparently due to the abundance of this animal here when the area was thickly wooded. The crest of the town carries the image of a wild boar. The town is partly in the civil parish of Newcastle.
Abbeyfeale is a historic market town in County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Kerry. The town is on the N21 road from Limerick to Tralee, some 21 kilometres south-west of Newcastle West and 16 kilometres south-east of Listowel and 38 kilometres north-east of Tralee. The town is in a civil parish of the same name.
Athea is a village in west County Limerick, Ireland. Athea has a Roman Catholic church, and is the centre for the parish of Athea, which encompasses several nearby townlands.
Abbeydorney is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. Located 9 kilometres (6 mi) north of the county town of Tralee, the village had a population of 418 as of the 2016 census of Ireland. Abbeydorney falls within the civil parish of O'Dorney.
The N21 road is a national primary road in Ireland. The route runs from the M20 outside Limerick to Tralee with connecting roads to other parts of County Kerry. It is 84.37 km (52.43 mi) in length. It runs through the towns of Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West, Adare and the village of Templeglantine. Prior to October 2010 the N21 also ran through the town of Castleisland. The town has since been bypassed. Rathkeale was also bypassed in 1992.
Limerick railway station also known as Colbert Station or Limerick Colbert serves the city of Limerick in County Limerick, Ireland. It is on Parnell Street and is the main station on the Limerick Suburban Rail network. It has approximately 2,500 rail passengers a day travelling on four rail routes. The Bus Éireann bus station on site services approximately one million passengers a year, with 125 buses departing each day.
Duagh is a village in County Kerry, Ireland, located approximately 7 km southeast of Listowel and 7 km northwest of Abbeyfeale on the R555 road. It is also a civil parish and townland.
The N69 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It runs from Limerick to Tralee and passes through Mungret, Clarina, Kildimo, Askeaton (bypassed), Foynes, Loghill, Glin, Tarbert, and Listowel.
Kerry North–West Limerick was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, for a single Dáil term, from 2011 to 2016. The constituency elected 3 deputies. The method of election was proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
Ardagh is a village and civil parish in County Limerick, Ireland. The village is situated round the junctions of the R523 and R521 roads. The nearest town is Newcastle West, 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the south. Primary level education for the village and its surroundings is provided by St Molua's National School. The parish is bounded to the west by Athea, to the north by the parish of Coolcappa, to the east Rathkeale and to the south by Newcastle West. The local GAA club is St. Kierans which represents both the parish of Ardagh-Carrigkerry as well as Coolcappagh-Kilcolman.
The Limerick–Tralee line, also known as the North Kerry line, is a former railway line from Limerick railway station to Tralee railway station in Ireland. It also has branch lines to Foynes and Fenit. Much of the line today has now been converted into a greenway, the Great Southern Trail.
Ireland's greenways are off-road routes for walkers, cyclists and other non-motorised transport in Ireland, which are often created as rail trails on abandoned sections of the Irish rail network. In the Republic of Ireland, several greenway initiatives have been centrally funded by the Irish government. In Northern Ireland, greenways are typically part of the collective British National Cycle Network (NCN).
The Tralee–Fenit Greenway is a greenway and rail trail in Ireland, which is due to form part of EuroVelo EV1 and the Great Southern Trail. The 14km route was planned to be completed by 2021, but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a rescheduled opening of summer 2022. The first phase of the greenway, comprising 6.5km of the route, was opened in June 2022, this was extended to 11.2km in October 2022.
The South Kerry Greenway is a proposed greenway rail trail in County Kerry, Ireland. It is intended to be 27 kilometres long when completed and run from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen. It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers along some of the route of the Farranfore–Valentia Harbour line, which opened 1893 and closed in 1960. The line was operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway.
The [10.5km] North Kerry Greenway has been developed along a disused railway line which will link up with the Great Southern Trail which extends from Abbeyfeale for 40km into County Limerick
The Limerick Greenway is the new name for the Limerick stretch of the Great Southern Greenway