Community Group pushing for a better Kinnitty

Now that the Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails have been officially opened, Cllr John Clendennen said he and the other members of Kinnitty Community Development Group want to see a great sense of transformation in Kinnitty.

“When I was growing up as a young lad,” the councillor told the Midland Tribune, “there were a number of shops and filling stations in the village which are now gone, which is sad, and it would be nice to see some of the village's buildings looking better.

“But so much work has already been done and overall the village is looking very well and is creating a positive impression.”

He said his hope now is that it will become a thriving hub for the bike trails, so much so that there will be a sense of occasion, of significant arrival, when visitors come into the village. “My hope is that visitors will be in no doubt that this is a main hub for the bike trails. I'd like to see drink fountains, new street furniture, bike stands, bike washing facilities.”

“I want to praise a number of local people who do so much to make the village look as lovely as it does, namely, John Walsh, who looks after the Community Centre; John Carroll, who is Chairman of the Community Development Group; Joe Mannion, who generally looks after the look of the village; and Jim Egan, Chairman of Kinnitty Tidy Towns.”

He said the proposed trail linking the village to Kinnitty Castle and the bike trails will be done before the end of the year.

He added that there are three bike hire facilities operating at the moment in the Kinnitty region.

He recalled that when he returned to Kinnitty in 2014 after living in an alpine village in Switzerland for some time, he brought with him the knowledge of how transformative bike trails can be. “I had seen how successful the mountain bike trails were in the Swiss village and I instinctively knew what a positive project the Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trail project was. I therefore pushed the project as much as I could. It was a big moment in 2017 when the first round of funding came through, and in 2018 when the first trail work started.”

Cllr Clendennen pointed out that Kinnitty has benefited from a broad range of government funding schemes over the past number of years, “with the vision, commitment and determination of local community groups working with Offaly County Council to deliver some brilliant projects. The Slieve Bloom mountain bike trails have really transformed the village and the village now welcomes thousands of visitors each year, whilst more development is imminent and funding will be sought for further projects. It was great to welcome Minister Heather Humphreys to the village and showcase some of the work to date, and highlight the €7 million investment in Kinnitty and the bike trails.”

Cllr Declan Harvey, Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council, recently praised Cllr John Clendennen for his energy and for establishing the Kinnitty Community Development Group. “The group has done great work. They took the parish hall, which was derelict, and transformed it.”

The old Parish Hall, which used to be a school many years ago, is located behind the village's Catholic Church and the plan is that it will operate as a space for bike hire operators and will feature showers and toilets for the cyclists.