€25m price tag for Greenway

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

AFOUR year timeframe and cost of €25m has been earmarked for the Ennis to Ennistymon section of the West Clare Railway Greenway.

Multiple design options have been sketched out, the second public consultation phase ran from February 10th to March 3rd where the various options were detailed. Events were held in Ennistymon, Ennis and Corofin at the end of February with large numbers in attendance.

Officials working on the ambitious project hope to submit a planning application by the summer of 2024. In the scenario where consent is given, funding is available and no challenges are made to the decision, construction would commence in early 2026 with a finish period of summer 2028.

Seán Lenihan, senior engineer in the project management office of Clare County Council is one of the key persons involved in the project. He outlined, “the estimated cost for this particular section is expected to be in the order of €25m”.

Lenihan advised, “In recent weeks, we were allocated just over €2.1m for the various Greenway proposals in Clare by the TII with €300k ringfenced specifically to advance the Ennis to Ennistymon Section in the year ahead”.

He was pleased with the initial progress on the Ennis to Ennistymon section. Roughan O’Donovan Consulting Engineers are the technical advisors for this particular phase. “They are working through the various stages of design in accordance with the Code of Best Practice as agreed by the Government and the