Adventure bog trails planned for Tipperary

A PLAN to spend €30 million on developing adventure trails through the bogs of the midlands has prompted a move by Tipperary County Council to make representations to Government to urge that Lower Ormond gets some of the funding.

At the May meeting of Tipperary County Council, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Ireland’s Ancient East Region, Brian O’ Flynn, said bogs in Lower Omond were not currently earmarked within the ambitious funding package that is set to benefit tourism in neighbouring counties such as Offaly and Laois.

However, following concerns voiced by councillors that Lower Ormond was not included in the plan, the local authority’s Chief Executive, Joe MacGrath’s, proposal that the council contact Tourism Minister Catherine Martin to include places like Lorrha, Rathcabbin and Riverstown was enthusiastically adopted.

Currently, just two of the five municipal districts in County Tipperary - Thurles and Carrick-on-Suir - are included in the plan for funding of the planned bog trails.

But Mr MacGrath said there was a real chance that bogs in Lower Ormond could also benefit as the area was geographically close to other bogs in nearby counties that were going to get funding under the plan. He said it would do “no harm” to write to Minister Martin to press for the inclusion in the plan of the most northern part of Tipperary.

WELCOMED

This suggestion was welcomed by Lower Ormond based councillors Ger Darcy and Michael O’ Meara, who said communities in their area had suffered badly due to the switch from peat harvesting to more renewable forms of energy.

Earlier, Cllr Darcy said he was “a little bit disappointed” that Lower Ormond was not included under the plan. He said many people in that area of Tipperary were working in the turf and bog sector and had suffered due to the wind down of peat harvesting in recent years.

“People from my area would like to see some money coming to our communities from the package because communities in our area have experienced huge losses due to the decline of the peat sector,” he said.

Supporting, Cllr Michael O’ Meara said the Shannon Callows should be included in the plan. Large numbers of people from Lorrha and Rathcabbin had worked in the peat sector that was now in decline. Lower Ormond could really benefit from the development of trails and greenways.

Mr O’ Flynn told councillors that the plan was to tie in the adventure trails through bogs with villages and towns along the proposed routes. The plan was to develop a number of trails “of significant scale”.

Cllr Siobhan Ambrose said that landowners through whose property the trails would be developed would have to be consulted before any work went ahead.

Council Director, Brian Beck, said the council had a policy of engaging in a substantial way with landowners impacted by the development of greenways. These trails could have a huge benefit for communities if done right.