TWO FOOTBRIDGES providing access to Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain, along with a car park for hillwalkers, were officially opened yesterday in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.
The mountain now hosts tens of thousands of climbers each year.
The €150,000 project, sponsored by Kerry County Council and Fáilte Ireland, also saw generous support from the community, including the donation of land at Lislebby by Donal O’Connor. The steel footbridges were made and donated by the Killarney-based German crane company Liebherr Ireland.
“This project provides a much-needed car park at Lisleibane, Beaufort, serving Carrauntoohil, and two footbridges in the Hags Glen area of Carrauntoohil, allowing hill walkers to safely enjoy the experience of walking Ireland’s highest mountain,” said Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan, who performed the opening.
The bridges were named in honour of a local community activist, the late Patie O’Shea, and Angela Kenny, who drowned some years ago in the area.