Attention needed for Limerick's working farm at 'Coolybrown'

THE DIRECTORS of the Great Southern Trail Ltd (GST) have discussed the recent announcement by Limerick City and County Council of a €5 million upgrade for the Greenway and wish to draw public attention to the history of the “Coolybrown working farm” element of the “otherwise broadly welcome proposals”.

In a statement, they said the story begins in 2003 with a successful planning application for a 180 square metre slatted unit to be constructed in a Coolybrown farm to the south of the railway.

“The application was revised in 2006 to double the size of the unit and this was also approved. In the interim the adjacent old Limerick to Tralee railway corridor had its right of way protected by the Mid-West Regional Authority for recreational and environmental pursuits in 2004.

“Therefore, in 2007, when another incarnation of the yet unbuilt slatted unit manifested itself in a planning application, Limerick County Council, referencing the Regional Authority guidelines, wrote to the applicant on July 20 that it was “not favourly disposed” to the application and advised that it should be relocated to the northern side of the railway where the bulk of the farmlands and buildings were located. The council requested further information.

“Surprisingly, having received no new information or proposals (only a regurgitation of the previous 2003 and 2006 files received on July 30) the council approved the application on the following day,” said the statement.

These events all pre-dated the 2010 development of the Rathkeale-Ardagh section; all of the works were undertaken by GST.

“It was only then that it came to light that the plans approved three years earlier had not been complied with. The slatted unit was now several metres closer to the railway than the planning permission permitted. In fact the cattle were being fed on the CIÉ railway property.

“The overall result of the CIÉ and council indulgence is that non local users of the Greenway when encountering a narrowing of the railway route and its less than attractive appearance, to their left and to their right, actually believe that they are in a farmyard.

“To compound all of the above the council’s current plan to use public funds and to detour away from the railway for a length of 800 metres is the final capitulation. It is also a recipe for similar demands on sections yet to be developed.

“During the GST twenty-five years of campaigning, developing and managing the Greenway we never entertained requests to deviate from the railway corridor. We viewed it as land held in trust by CIÉ for the people of Ireland. Our hope now is that wiser counsel will prevail with this ill-advised current proposal being further investigated and resolved in the public interest.

“The GST Greenway has the capacity to be a world class facility and of major benefit to locals and visitors alike. The integrity of the entire way without any proposed private diversion is a key element of the facility now and for future generations,” concludes the statement.

In reply, the council said they took ownership of the Greenway route from Rathkeale to the Kerry border in 2015.

“Since then a large amount of work has been completed to bring the route up to the standard of similar Greenways nationally and internationally, with more than €3 million. These works included the Barnagh Tunnel, improved crossing points, fencing, track surfacing, bridges and signage, along with loops around the three market towns of Rathkeale, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale.

“Just three weeks ago Limerick City and County Council announced a further investment of €5 million for a total upgrade of the surface of the Greenway,” said a spokesperson.

In addition to the €5 million, the council pointed to purchasing the old Ardagh and Barnagh Station Houses.

“With the agreement of CIE and landowners, the council will in the interests of health and safety construct an 800m diversion of the Greenway around a working farmyard at Coolybrown, Ardagh. No further route diversions are planned along the Greenway. The council has commenced design work on the small number of cattle underpasses necessary to facilitate other farm crossings on the route.

“A new re-imagined and enticing Greenway can act as a catalyst for the development of tourism and spin off activities in West Limerick and it is incumbent on everyone now to support the Greenway and support the potential job creation and other economic benefits for the region, especially now in this post-Covid environment which should make the Greenway even more popular,” said the spokesperson.