The Great Southern Trail, comprising the Limerick Greenway and North Kerry Greenway, is a greenway

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

under development in

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

and

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. As of October 2022, of the Limerick Greenway and of the North Kerry Greenway were completed. When fully completed, the route is intended to be long and run from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

. 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 The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the larges ...

, which opened between 1867 and 1880 and was closed in 1977.

Sections

Limerick Greenway

A section of the trail within

, known as the Limerick Greenway, was completed in June 2021, funded by

Fáilte Ireland Fáilte Ireland is the operating name of the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 to replace and build upon the functions of Bord Fáilte, i ...

and the Departments of

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and Rural and Community Development. The 115 metre-long Barnagh tunnel was renovated for the greenway and is now accessible via a dedicated underpass. Car parking, children's playground, 'crazy golf', bathrooms, bike hire, and a small restaurant are all available in the Barnagh Greenway Hub. The cast-iron Ferguson's Viaduct also comprises a section of the greenway. The greenway stretches from

Rathkeale 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 n ...

Abbeyfeale 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 south-west of Newcastle West and south-east of Listowel and north-east of Tra ...

. It forms part of the

EuroVelo EuroVelo is a network of 17 long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe, with 2 more in early construction across various stages of completion. When completed, the EuroVelo network's total length will be almost . more than were in place. ...

Atlantic Coast Route (EV 1). In the 10 months following its May 2021 reopening, the Limerick Greenway received 500,000 visitors.

North Kerry Greenway

The North Kerry Greenway is due to form the western section of the Great Southern trail. As of May 2022, sections of the greenway were expected to be opened in phases during 2022. A 10.5 km stretch of the route, between

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

and the border between counties Kerry and Limerick, was opened by October 2022. At the time of its opening, "temporary" carparking was opened at the Listowel trailhead. When completed, the southern end of the North Kerry Greenway is due to link to the Tralee-Fenit Greenway close to

, forming a network known as the "Kingdom of Kerry Greenways".

Development

Set up in 1991, 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). They were awarded a special jury prize by the

European Greenways Association In May 1997, the first ''European Conference on Soft Traffic and Railways Paths'' (held at Val-Dieu Abbey, Belgium) voted to set up the European Greenways Association (EGWA). This association was created by many local, regional and national associa ...

at the 2011 European Greenways Awards in recognition of their efforts to develop the greenway. Limerick City and County Council assumed responsibility for the management and maintenance of the Great Southern Trail in November 2015. Development of the trail ran into several difficulties, including questions of public land ownership, and the expectations of some other local landowners and householders. 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. It was subsequently established that

CIÉ , or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic of Ireland and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Hold ...

(the Irish transport authority) owned the line and that the landowners had no claim to the trail. From 2016, CIÉ transferred ownership of the line to

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roa ...

for further development of the trail towards

, pending future funding becoming available. 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. As of 2021, approximately of the route between

and

had been developed. This section of the trail passes through Ardagh,

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicised Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city. It is also the county t ...

and Barnagh. By October 2022, of the Limerick Greenway and of the North Kerry Greenway had been completed.

References

External links