New Monaincha Discovery Trail will link with other walking routes

One of Roscrea's best kept secrets - the 12th Century monastic island Monaincha Abbey - will benefit from significant funding to develop a new walking trail which will open up the site for visitors this year.

There are also plans to link the route with other new trails which will traverse the scenic landscape in the Sheehills area north of Roscrea Town.

Councillor Michael Smith told the monthly meeting of the Municipal Council for the area on Monday there is potential to link with five or six separate trails, all which converge on the ancient Abbey site.

Cllr. Shane Lee agreed, saying the Sheehills area has great potential for rectreational walking facilitites.

The meeting heard the local authority is consulting with private landowners and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Coillte on the plans. A survey of potentially dangerous trees is planned for the coming weeks.

The local authority are also examining the potential to link the Discovery Trail with other similar trails.

Once home to 800 monks who were led by the enigmatic monk Elisarius, Monaincha Abbey near Roscrea was once an island where women were forbidden from visiting. The site, which has a remarkable otherworldly aesthetic, is infrequently visited by locals or tourists due to no facilities to assist with walking safely to the boggy site and a dearth of signage to direct visitors.

€197,991 was allocated last year to create a looped walk called the Monaincha Discovery Trail at the historic site.

The genesis of the Monaincha plan stretches back as far as 2013 and saw multiple stakeholders such as Coillte and Tipperary County Council work with landowners to realise the plans. The local authority succeeded in securing funding for the ambitious plans through the Outdoor Recreational Scheme, funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Expressions of interest were completed last February, with a detailed submission prepared and submitted in May to the Department.

Roscrea Councillor Michael Smith (FF) said the original idea for the project surfaced during the Covid pandemic when travel and walking distances were severely restricted and people rediscovered their own areas..