Fantastic new walk being planned for Birr

A FANTASTIC new walk is being designed for Birr, which will be a wonderful addition to the town when it opens to the public.
Denis Shine, Cathaoirleach of Birr 20:20, told the group's AGM that they made an application recently for a grant for the development of one of the paths following the banks of the River Camcor out into the beautiful countryside surrounding Birr.
“There is a rough fisherman's trail there already,” remarked Denis, “but we plan to improve it and signpost it. Our plan is to initially develop three kilometres of the trail following the river. We are thinking of making it part of a much longer walk, whose starting point will be the car park at Marian Hall. Therefore, walking from Marian Hall to the end of our proposed Camcor Trail will in fact be a total distance of six kilometres. It will be a lovely and interesting trail which will pass by a number of Heritage Sites including Clonoghill Castle in the Syngefield area.
“We hope to deliver it by the end of the summer. All the landowners are on board. It will be along the southern bank. Eventually we hope to go along the northern bank.
“Last year John Feehan also chatted to us about Killaun Bog, a beautiful area of land covering 600 hectares. We hope to create two 5km walks out there in Killaun Bog. We have the bog's landowners' permission in place including Birr Community School. Stage 1 of the Killaun project will be creating the walks; Stage 2 will be planting a significant number of Scots (Irish) Pine.

Denis pointed out that the eventual plan is to connect the Camcor River walks to the Killaun Bog walks. “If we could connect the Camcor walks with a trail out to the Killaun Bog Walks you would have a day's outing of about 20 kms and no need for a car to drive out to the bog.”
Seán Loughnane pointed out that funding from the Community Benefit Funds being run by Wind Farms such as the Derrinlough Wind Farm could be used to fund projects such as the Camcor / Killaun trails.
Denis Shine said creating the Camcor / Killaun trails would give visitors to Birr another activity to do, enticing them to stay perhaps another day in the town. “I actually prefer Killaun Bog to Lough Boora,” he remarked, “because it is wilder.” He added that the material used for the paths would not be hard, such as tarmacadam, but would be “soft” and appropriate.
In other business, the Chairperson told the meeting that the group's finances are in good shape, with an Income of €65,000 in 2024, and Outgoings of €45,000. The closing balance is €27,000. He thanked the Trench Trust for their invaluable financial assistance.
He added that two of the important activities which Birr 20:20 was connected with during the year was the Anaerobic Digester Conference in the County Arms, and cleaning up the old St Brendan's graveyard (which has been closed to the general public for 25 years because it is deemed unsafe. It's planned to reopen the site this year).
He reminded everyone that the group was set up when the Town Councils dissolved about a decade ago and its purpose is to facilitate others. He said the group is divided into Pillars which direct various projects in the community whether it be Sports, the Arts, etc.
“We are well aware that one of our pillars, the Growery, needs a new site and we have mentioned this to the Council. The Growery is a busy group and is still looking for a new home.” Denis added that 20:20's website has been kept up to date and the group is enjoying a lot more social media traffic. “Our biggest challenge at the moment is we need more people to get involved, we need more members.”