Funding secured to complete Offaly bike trails

South Offaly received a major boost this week with the news that funding had been secured to complete the Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trail (MBT).

The funding for the final phase of the 100 kilometres of trails across the mountain range is part of a €10m allocation under the government's rural regeneration fund to develop international standard mountain bike trails at four locations nationwide. Work on the first 35km of trails in the Slieve Bloom MBT is near completion and is set to open to the public at Easter.

Speaking this week, Kinnitty-based Cllr John Clendennen said that the funding announcement “is yet another major boost for the development of the Slieve Bloom mountains and will ensure the completion of the mountain bike trail network in its entirety”.

“There has been a lot of work done locally in the past eighteen months with many different agencies and local groups involved, to develop the trails, devise a plan for promoting the area and ensure Kinnitty Village is the trail hub. The momentum that the project has  gathered since the initial €1 million euro government funding in August 2017 has been exceptional and I would be confident that we will see those efforts resulting in investment and job creation both in Laois and Offaly,” Cllr Clendennen said.

The new funding has also been welcomed by Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, who said that it was “fantastic news” for the region.

“The inclusion of this project along with four other mountain bike trails across Ireland, will ensure that the Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike trails will be prioritised for additional State funding to allow for further development of this exciting project,” she said.

“The government is demonstrating its commitment to this very important tourism and leisure infrastructure with over €1 million allocated to this project on the Offaly and Laois border to date.

“Our civic recreational and leisure facilities are an important factor in determining our health and well being and we can all see the positive impact of investments in our recreational amenities from the continued expansion of the Greenways here in Laois/Offaly and the hugely popular destination, Lough Boora Discovery Park,” Deputy Corcoran Kennedy concluded.

The development of the bike trails in the Slieve Blooms and the other trail centres in Ballyhoura (Limerick/Cork), Coolaney (Sligo) and Ticknock/Ballinastoe (Dublin/Wicklow) is being overseen by Coillte.