Dublin-Galway Greenway


The Dublin-Galway Greenway is a partially completed 'coast-to-coast' greenway and partial rail trail, in Ireland, funded by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, which will become the western section of EuroVelo EV2, a cycle route from Galway, Ireland, crossing Europe and ending in Moscow, Russia. The 276 km route is planned to be completed by 2020. It will be the fourth greenway in Ireland, after the Great Southern Trail, the Great Western Greenway and the Waterford Greenway.

Sections

The greenway connects existing pathways, redeveloped railtrails and newly created sections.

City Centre to Ashtown

The Greenway will begin at Spencer Dock in Dublin City Centre. The section from Sheriff Street to Newcomen Bridge, a completely new section of canal-side route crossing a railway line, is under construction as of March 2019. The rest of the route follows the canal towpaths, which are of varying quality and includes the "Deep Sinking" section which is currently inadvisable for amateur cyclists. Upgrades of the entire length are proposed.

Royal Canal Way

The route then follows the Royal Canal Way which links Ashtown, Dublin to Longford along the Royal Canal.
Upgrade works are planned along the length of this to improve surfaces and access. The official "starting" point for the Greenway is at Maynooth harbour, 28 km from the Eastern end of the Greenway; but works are either in planning, under construction or completed along the entire length of the Royal Canal Way.

Westmeath Way

The Westmeath way stretches 28 km from the Meath-Westmeath border and will meet to the town of Ballinea, south-west of Mullingar.

Mullingar - Athlone

The section from Mullingar to Athlone is a rail-trail over the disused Mullingar-Athlone rail line,. The Moate-Garrycastle section was officially opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in October 2015. Planning permission was granted for a new bridge in Athlone across the Shannon was granted in November 2017. Funding for this bridge and the section from Garrycastle into Athlone was announced in August 2018. Rail traffic through Athlone was suspended during the Easter weekend in 2019, to allow for the construction of an underpass for the greenway below the Dublin Hueston - Galway rail line. In September 2015 the Westmeath Independent reported that the greenway could provide a "€15m boost" to the local economy.
Plans, by a community development organsisation in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, are underway to connect the Greenway to the Offaly Cycleways at Kilbeggan with a greenway to Tullamore, County Offaly.

Athlone - Galway

The planning of this route via Ballinasloe by the National Roads Authority was requested by Galway County Council in June 2014 and was in the planning stage in July 2015. There has been opposition from multiple stakeholders: the Galway Cycling Campaign is objecting to the proposal to place the route near to the N6 national primary road. Teachta Dála for Galway East, Ciarán Cannon stated in September 2015 that significant numbers of local landowners have also expressed concern about the preferred route. In October 2015 Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe announced the withdrawal of funding for the section until the concerns of local landowners had been resolved. In January 2017, Minister Shane Ross announced a new consultation process, and 55 submissions were received by February. In 2018 this section was still in the planning phase, with funding secure from Transport Infrastructure Ireland. A public project office was planned in early 2019. By July 2019 a preferred route following the rail line to Monksland, turning southwards through Crannagh More, by the River Shannon opposite Clonmacnoise, west towards Moore, crossing the R357 north of Shannonbridge, crossing the River Suck, and taking the disused Grand-Canal branch to Ballinasloe, before passing through Loughrea, Clarinbridge and Oranmore before going into Galway city, was published. Funding was allocated to Galway County Council in December 2019.