Cllr Cillian Murphy, Cathaoirleach, West Clare Municipal District; Pat Dowling, Chief Executive, Clare County Council; Leonard Cleary, Director, West Clare Municipal District; Seán Lenihan, Senior Engineer, Clare County Council; Eoin O’Cathain, Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers; Carmel Kirby, Director of Physical Development, Clare County Council; and Cllr Joe Killeen, Leas Cathaoirleach, Clare County Council. Photograph: Eamon Ward.
OVER A QUARTER OF A MILLION EUROS have been spent to date on the West Clare Railway Greenway.
Between feasibility studies, surveys, a strategic assessment report, a constraints study, consultant fees and options report, Clare County Council have already incurred a bill of approximately €255,000 on what is aspired to become a major tourist attraction. Of this spend, €150,000 has been on the feasibility studies.
An opening date of 2025 has been set by officials driving the project for the local authority. Initial estimates placed the expected cost at €80m. The 85km route is split into four sections, Kilrush to Kilkee, Ennis to Ennistymon, Ennistymon to Miltown Malbay and Miltown Malbay to Moyasta. . Additional funding to the tune of €800,000 was secured in December, €500,000 of which will be spent on the Kilrush to Kilkee section.
Officials in the Council’s project management office are hopeful to submit a planning application to An Bord Pleánala in 2023 for the Ennis to Ennistymon section but are hopeful to have the Kilrush to Kilkee equivalent with the planning authority later this year.
Following the first phase public consultation event for the project held in September, feedback was received from the public and landowners on possible route options. The second phase is due to commence and will include possible routes and the emerging preferred route. There is an estimated cost of €25m for the Ennis to Ennistymon section which will travel via Corofin.
Seán Lenihan of the project management office acknowledged that extensive engagement and consultation was “absolutely vital to the success” of the Greenway. He cautioned that it could take An Bord Pleánala up to twelve months to make a decision, the matter goes straight to them owing to “environmental concerns and constraints”.
Making the most of the railway line will add to the attraction, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) affirmed, “people always said it was a pity we didn’t have the West Clare Railway but to have the greenway you can imagine how it good it would be”.
He added, “the onus is on Clare County Council to come out and show the lead, we’ve been up to see the Greenway in Mayo and down to Waterford as a group representing the Council we’ve seen the work in these places, we’ve the personnel to do it, we’ve top class engineers and officials, it is a matter of consultation”.
Progress to date has been positive, Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) maintained. “The timescale so far is unprecedented when you see the amount of work that has gone into it”.
