A 2020s Environmental and Recreational Renaissance is taking place in rural Ireland, on and near the Grand and Royal Canals.
It involves the opening of huge swathes of land to locals and visitors for recreation, while at the same time improving our natural environment and creating commercial opportunities in the Canal Counties. These areas are under construction now and form part of Bord Fáilte’s Ancient East and Hidden Heartlands tourism brands.
County Kildare is at the heart of this resurgence.
As well as campaigning for the re-opening of the Corbally Canal near Naas to boaters, cyclists and walkers, the Canal Branches of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI) have provided the relevant authorities with their visualisation of additional amenities needed to attract more visitors. The Barrow Blueway, the Grand Canal Greenway, the Royal Canal Greenway and the proposed National Peatland’s Park are key initiatives that will attract many thousands more visitors from home and abroad, to the Grand and Royal Canals.
Here are some of the issues and suggestions that have featured in IWAI’s recent proposals:
- improvements to ensure safe navigation of vessels throughout the Canal Greenway Plans approved by the relevant Planning departments
- suggestions to town and county councils on improvements to the canals and their facilities, in their current Five-Year Plans
- the need for additional cycling and walking paths as a means of attracting touring boaters and users of the Greenway to the nature centres in the Peatlands.
- additional moorings and canal marinas for barges and boats near the Peatlands and the Barrow Blueway Hubs
- where possible, the melding of services for local and visiting boaters, cyclists, and walkers
- facilities required for private and commercial barges and boats in the re-development of canal harbours
- safety first on and beside our waterways for all boaters, canoeists, cyclists, kayakers and walkers
(Kildare County Council’s Barrow Blueway Placemaking Plan is currently under review.)
IWAI supports
‘any proposal which may be calculated to maintain or improve inland waterways and also to improve navigation, lay moorings and carry out other works of improvement on or adjacent to the waterways’
‘the fullest use of every navigable waterway by both commercial and pleasure traffic, provided such is not injurious to the environmental health of the waterways and surrounding areas’
‘the advancement of education and heritage through the promotion of and assistance in the restoration and maintenance of waterways for the use and education of the general public’