€90,000 has been allocated to Woodpark in Mountshannon for the upgrade of 1.4km of the walking trail and car park improvements.
On Tuesday, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary (FF) announced a €3.13m investment in new trail infrastructure and ongoing maintenance at 224 sites across the country.
This is the final year of a five year strategic partnership between the Department and Coillte where over €16m has been invested in Coillte recreation sites.
Woodpark in Mounstshannon is the only Clare project among the twenty nationwide. The funding of €90,000 is for car park improvement works and the upgrade of 1.4 km of the walking trail.
Four Clare forests are included on Coillte’s maintenance list for 2026. Works include general trail maintenance and surfacing improvements within Ballycuggeran and Cratloe Woods plus minor trail repairs, verge cutting and spot tree surgery where required at Kilrush Wood and Woodpark in Mountshannon.
Minister Calleary said, “As well as being used to maintain and develop Coillte’s trail network and recreation amenities, this funding has also supported Coillte’s engagement with local communities and recreation groups right across the country. These forests are great assets that visitors and local communities enjoy on a daily basis and they are a hugely important element of the outdoor recreation sector in Ireland”.
He continued, “We cannot overstate the positive impact recreation in the outdoors has on our physical and mental wellbeing. Our partnership with Coillte is one of the most important and I look forward to working with the organisation in the coming months to develop a new strategic partnership from 2027”.
CEO of Coillte, Imelda Hurley stated, “We continue to see strong growth in visitor numbers year-on-year across our most popular recreation forests, demonstrating just how valued these amenity forests are by communities throughout Ireland. This €3.13 million investment from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG), is critical to ensuring we can continue to develop and enhance these important recreation sites nationwide, and in doing so support rural economic development, and provide high-quality, accessible spaces for people to enjoy”.
