| Hymany Way | |
|---|---|
| Length | 50 km (31 mi) [1] |
| Location | County Galway, Ireland |
| Designation | National Waymarked Trail [1] |
| Trailheads | Portumna, Aughrim |
| Use | Hiking |
| Hiking details | |
| Trail difficulty | Easy [1] |
| Season | Any |
The Hymany Way is a long-distance trail in County Galway, Ireland. It is 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and begins in Portumna and ends in Aughrim. It is typically completed in two days. [1] It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by the Aughrim Development Company Limited. [1] The trail was developed with funding assistance from the NTR Foundation, a philanthropic organisation of NTR plc. [2] It was officially opened on 24 September 2010 by Councillor Jimmy McClearn, Mayor of County Galway. [3] It is planned to extend the trail from Aughrim to Ballygar where it will join with the Suck Valley Way. [3]
A long-distance trail is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents except Antartica.
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West of Ireland, part of the province of Connacht.
Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern part of the island, and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's over 4.8 million inhabitants. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south-east, and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the Oireachtas, consists of a lower house, Dáil Éireann, an upper house, Seanad Éireann, and an elected President who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President; the Taoiseach in turn appoints other government ministers.
Starting in Portumna, the trail follows the banks of the River Shannon before turning inland at the townland of Friarsland, near Eyrecourt, to reach Clonfert. [4] From Clonfert, it crosses bogland to the townland of Cloonascragh. [5] On the final approach to Aughrim, it passes the site of the Battle of Aughrim. [1]
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at 360.5 km. It drains the Shannon River Basin which has an area of 16,865 km2 (6,512 sq mi), one fifth of the area of Ireland.
A townland is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin, pre-dating the Norman invasion, and most have names of Irish Gaelic origin. However, some townland names and boundaries come from Norman manors, plantation divisions, or later creations of the Ordnance Survey. The total number of inhabited townlands was 60,679 in 1911. The total number recognised by the Irish Place Names database as of 2014 was 61,098, including uninhabited townlands, mainly small islands.
Eyrecourt, historically known as Donanaghta, is a village in County Galway, Ireland. Eyrecourt is on the R356 regional road 12 km west of the Banagher bridge over the River Shannon.
The Hymany Way forms part of the Beara-Breifne Way, a walking and cycling route under development, intended to run from the Beara Peninsula, County Cork to Breifne, County Leitrim following the line of Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare's march in the aftermath of the Battle of Kinsale in 1602. [3]
The Beara-Breifne Way is a long distance walking and cycling trail being developed from the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland, to Blacklion in the area of Breifne in County Cavan. The trail follows closely the line of the historical march of O’Sullivan Beare.
Beara or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down its centre: the Caha Mountains and the Slieve Miskish Mountains. The northern part of the peninsula from Kenmare to near Ardgroom is in County Kerry, while the rest forms the barony of Bear in County Cork.
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is the largest and southernmost county of Ireland, situated in the province of Munster and named after the city of Cork, Ireland's second-largest city. The Cork County Council is the local authority for the county. Its largest market towns are Mallow, Macroom, Midleton, and Skibbereen. In 2016, the county's population was 542,868, making it the third-most populous county in Ireland. Notable Corkonians include Michael Collins, Jack Lynch, and Sonia O'Sullivan.
