Call for 'more urgency' on setting up trail to Clonmacnois

A meeting took place in Athlone last Thursday evening to discuss the creation of a pedestrian and cycle trail that would link the town with the ancient monastic site at Clonmacnois.

The proposed trail would connect the Clonbonny area of Athlone with a point near the Boor River, close to the Offaly border.

The idea is that, from there, cyclists and walkers would access the back-roads of Bloomhill and Ballyduff in order to reach Clonmacnois without having to travel on the busy N62 Ballinahown road.

The Athlone Walking Club and cycling clubs from Westmeath, Offaly and Roscommon were represented at Thursday's meeting which was held in the upstairs section of Sean's Bar.

Local resident Flan Barnwell has been raising awareness of the potential trail and has been setting up an 'Athlone to Clonmacnois trail support group'.

He believes the trail would be a great addition to the tourist amenities in this region, and the feeling at Thursday's meeting was that there should be more urgency from the council in helping to progress the idea.

"Significant capital funding is available for projects such as these, however, so far, no application for funding has been made," he said.

Flan stated that Longford County Council had drawn up a detailed plan to develop a cycle route from the Royal Canal in Clondra to Ballymahon, via the canal bank, which could then continue "via the back roads to Athlone."

Offaly County Council was also working on a trail to Shannon Harbour along the bank of the Grand Canal. He felt there was now an onus on Westmeath County Council to progress an Athlone to Clonmacnois route, which could integrate nicely with these two separate projects in Longford and Offaly.

“If Westmeath County Council advance the Athlone to Clonmacnois route, and Offaly and Longford councils continue to make progress, the result will be a spectacular recreational area in the region encompassing the 'Mid-Shannon Wilderness Park' in Longford, Clonmacnois, Lough Boora Discovery Park, the fantastic network of trails in the Slieve Blooms and many more heritage and pilgrim routes."

He said it was agreed on Thursday that regular meetings should now be held "to ensure that the local authority takes on the task and brings it to completion at an early date."

The next meeting on the proposed trail will take place shortly before Easter, with the specific details being made available closer to the time.