IT’S been a year where there has been much talk of cycle lanes, alternative transport, and greenway development, but for one group of people, finding a way of getting out of the car and enjoying the beautiful Limerick countryside is not a new idea.
The Great Southern Trail organisation were the flag bearers for the development of greenways in Limerick and now they are launching a calendar celebrating the people who got the ball rolling and negotiated, pushed, and walked the walk to develop the original trail almost 35 years ago.Â
The organisation planned the first long-distance walking route in the country in County Limerick, long before greenways became part of the recreational picture.
“It was all voluntary effort and the company is still going and is still voluntary,” chairman Liam O’Mahony told the Limerick Post. “Sadly some of those people have passed away and we wanted to mark and remember the huge contribution all of the volunteers made.”
As well as featuring pictures of sections of the trail and the people involved in the work on it, there are pictures of structures now gone that used to be part of the former Great Southern Rail route.
The months celebrate our native language with the names as Gaelige.
The calendar is €10 and any profit will be used to promote the group’s campaign to have a greenway from Rathkeale parallel to the rejuvenated Foynes to Limerick railway.
It is available in shops in Abbeyfeale, Ardagh, Newcastle West, and Devon Road.