Outdoor enthusiasts will benefit from a 17.5km off-road cycling and walkway built on an abandoned rail line along the Mayo coast, it emerged today.
The €1.6 million redevelopment running east to west from Newport to Mulranny may also be extended northward to Westport, or further west to Achill Sound.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said the new route, redeveloped from the Midland Great Western Railway line, would serve as a catalyst for other similar schemes across the country.
“I believe [it] offers a vision of the future,” the Minister said. “People from all over Ireland can make use of this world-class route and I am sure it will act as a catalyst for other routes to be developed all across the country.
“Not only will this remove the barriers in peoples’ minds when it comes to cycling, it will greatly increase the attractiveness of Ireland as a tourism destination, and create jobs in local economies.”
Failte Ireland said activity holiday visitors spent more than €1 billion in Ireland in 2008.