Minister to open County Roscommon's new €1m greenway

The South Roscommon village of Ballyforan will witness the official opening of its 3km greenway later this afternoon, Friday.

Following years of work by the Ballyforan Area Transition Team and other organisations in the local area, the new amenity will be officially opened on Friday, April 25th, by Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Alan Dillon.

The greenway, which goes across the picturesque Derryfadda bog, has been developed at a cost of €1 million with 85 per cent of the monies coming from the Just Transition Fund (JTF). The remaining 15 per cent is to come from match fundraising. The project includes a car park with 20 spaces, and a 200-metre woodland trail into the greenway.

Following the launch at the greenway car park at 3.30 p.m., there will be a presentation on the Ballyforan Feasibility Study by ACT Consultant Architects at Ballyforan Hall.

The Just Transition Fund provided €100,000 for the study, which lays out a blueprint for the future development of four projects in the village.

The area itself is historic with the River Suck described in the study as the “defining element in the landscape around Ballyforan and key to the village's location”.

Cait Kenny of the Ballyforan Area Transition Team told the Herald that the greenway was completely unique and was already attracting many visitors.

“It is such a nice place to visit, the sunsets and sunrises are just beautiful. We had a soft launch in early March, opening it up for a week or two and it was well received. As well as locals, people were coming out from Athlone, Ballygar, and Ahascragh,” Ms Kenny said.

The team, which works closely with Ballyforan Tidy Towns, includes Ms Kenny, Noel Dunning, Stephen Burke, and Enda Hoey. She explained that the next phase of the greenway was to link it back to the village, and she thanked Bord Na Móna, which carried out the works to construct the greenway.

Ms Kenny said that the local community availed of the funding, which aims to support communities affected by the winding up of Bord Na Móna’s peat harvesting activities.

Following public meetings in 2019 and 2020, the team was established. Subsequently several projects were identified by the local community, including the greenway and a new community centre.

Ms Kenny said that the team had engaged with Roscommon County Council about the centre, and that the local authority has now provided approximately five acres of land in the middle of Ballyforan for the development. The team will be seeking further funding from for this proposal.

The team members are currently fundraising to continue to improve Ballyforan and an Idonate page has been set up. A 'Buy a Brick' fundraiser involves constructing a sponsors’ wall of 360 engraved limestone plaques on the greenway site. The wall will be 2 meters high and 10 meters in length.

“We have had great uptake so far, but we have a way to go,” Ms Kenny said.

According to the feasibility study, the area around Ballyforan holds many important species and ecosystems of international relevance.

“In particular the zone around the River Suck has important habitats that are protected under EU law,” the document said. “This provides an opportunity for Ballyforan to become a destination in nature and restoration tourism particularly if programs are implemented to aid in this restoration.” Four projects have been identified for further development in the feasibility study. One of these is to encourage safe access for pedestrians and cyclists to the greenway. As part of this plan, proposals for a new bridgeway or a shared bridge across the Suck were examined.

Another of the proposals suggests repurposing the courthouse/library into a remote working hub to facilitate startup businesses and accommodate remote workers.

The other two projects are the development of the Claremont grounds, to include tourist facilities, community facilities, areas for nature, glamping, food production and sport, and the development of a new Ballyforan Community Centre.

“The historic estate grounds are located ideally to serve the community of Ballyforan and were once an important component of the village make up,” the report said. “With the abandoning of Claremont House in the 1950s, the house and grounds were gifted to the local authority.” The report said that the Claremont grounds had the potential to become a new community gathering point, a destination for tourists, and a haven for nature and climate resilience.

*To donate, visit the Ballyforan Area Transition Team Idonate page.