Ambitious plan to extend Grand Canal Greenway to Croghan Hill in Offaly

A proposal to extend the Grand Canal Greenway to Croghan Hill has been submitted for consideration to the next meeting of Offaly County Council's, Edenderry Municipal Authority by local councillor Liam Quinn.

This proposal would see the Grand Canal Greenway extended along the Bord na Mona rail line from the Mount Lucas Wind farm to Croghan Hill.

This extension would complement the reinstatement of Lough Na Shade and the development of an Amenity Area at this site. Lough Na Shade is a historic lake located between Rhode and Croghan which was drained as part of the development of the bogs in the 1950s.

Lough Na Shade is cited on Samuel Lewis 1837 Maps of Bogs in the Irish midlands. The area around the lake is of some archaeological merit. Report from the time noted the discovery of “A dug-out coracle (Boat) of oak” found at Lough-na-shade, a grown-over lakelet, . . .in Derrygreenagh Bog. It was discovered, in January 1955, in a newly opened Bord na Mona drain.” Given the close proximity of this peatland to Croghan it seems sensible that this area of bog be rewetted/rewilded and with a view to reinstating Lough na shade if that is now feasible.

Commented Cllr Quinn: “This is the closest section of cutaway bog to Croghan Hill, it has been noted for its archaeological features in several studies and is worthy of exclusion from renewable energy projects. The recreation of the historic lake at Lough na Shade would act as a significant buffer to protect the views from Croghan Hill. In that time, Offaly County Council have purchased the top of the hill, installed a new trig station at the summit, restored the walkway and reinstated the boundary wall of the Old Graveyard. It is worth noting that all of these projects have been made possible with the generous cooperation of local landowners. Accessibility to this amenity must now be developed by connecting it to the existing Greenway network and ultimately the East Offaly Wilderness Corridor.

“As part of the Just Transition process €169m has been allocated for communities transitioning away from peat. Over €30m of this fund has been allocated by Failte Ireland for Tracks and Trails and the extension of the Greenway network. I believe this project is ideally suited for this scheme. It is located in an area directly affected by decarbonisation, it is linked to the existing Greenway network at the Grand Canal and it dovetails with the programme of works already completed by Offaly County Council at Croghan Hill. AT a planning level preparatory work around this scheme has already been undertaken. The route of the BHM rail line at Mount Lucas to Tubberdaly and the creation of a linked cycling route around Croghan Hill has been identified in the Midlands Cycling Destination policy. I believe that this area of bog in conjunction with the recent upgrade works at Croghan could form a Croghan Hill Greenway/ Lough na shade Amenity Area.”

A meeting to discuss this project will be held in the meeting room at Rhode GAA Hall (opposite Rhode School) on Monday, March 6 at 8pm. Anyone who has an interest in this project is most welcome to attend.

Cllr Quinn will also be holding a meeting in Croghan regarding the proposal with venue and time to be confirmed.