New book explores history of Limerick Greenway
The book is an account of a 678-kilometre walk from the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry to Burr Point in Co. Down and an exploration of the history of land access and ownership in Ireland
A NEW book has stirred up debate around the controversial topic of access to the Irish countryside.
The Pathless Land: Finding a Way Across Ireland is the latest publication from award-winning travel writer Tim Hannigan.
The book is an account of a 678-kilometre walk from the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry to Burr Point in Co. Down and an exploration of the history of land access and ownership in Ireland.
Along the way it covers the history of efforts to establish a “Great Southern Trail” between Limerick and Tralee.
Tim, who lives in East Galway and teaches Writing and Literature at Atlantic Technological University, said: “The starting point for this book was a simple question: why does Ireland have probably the worst public access to the countryside in the whole of Europe?”
“It’s something I’ve been thinking and talking about for years, and walking from one end of the country to the other seemed like a good way to come up with answers.”
The journey took place in the summer of 2024.
Hannigan says he tried to avoid both deliberate trespass and walking on roads, but the lack of public footpaths often made that impossible.
Reflecting on his trip, Tim explained: “Ireland is an outlier in Europe.
"Most other European countries have some kind of legal right of countryside access, whether it’s a network of public footpaths along the field edges or a right to roam in forests and mountains.
"But in Ireland there is virtually no statutory mechanism to guarantee a right to walk off-road.
"What access there is to hills and beaches and woodlands is entirely permissive and can be withdrawn at any time.
"Nowhere else in Europe do you see large numbers of people walking along the edges of busy roads in hi-vis vests – because they have better places to walk!”
A committee member of Keep Ireland Open - the voluntary organisation that has campaigned on access issues for decades -Tim claims that better countryside access would not only bring people closer to nature and boost tourism; it would potentially reduce conflict over greenway developments.