- Grants to be provided to 203 Community Groups nationwide
- Funding for the upgrade and development of outdoor walking trails
- Groups to be supported in promoting their trails as tourist attractions
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today announced funding of over €1 million to support and improve 517 walking trails across the country.
Under the initiative, some 203 community groups will receive grants ranging from €1,500-€35,000 for the development and upgrade of their local trails.
Funding is also being provided under the scheme to support groups to promote their trails as tourist attractions.
This funding will support small local trails as well as also supporting groups with the costs involved in managing strategically important trails such as the Beara-Breifne Way.
Among the Community Groups being approved funding today include:
- Co. Cork : Sheep’s Head Way Limited
- Co. Kerry: Dingle Way Committee
- Co. Mayo: North Mayo Heritage Committee
- Co. Offaly: Moneygall Development Association
- Co. Tipperary: Tipperary Trails Group
- Co. Wexford: Kiltealy Walking Trails
- Co. Wicklow: Glenmalure PURE Mile Group and Glens of Lead Group
Announcing the funding, Minister Humphreys said:
“Our walkways and outdoor trails really do showcase all that is good about our rural towns and villages.
“So today, I’m delighted to announce over €1 million for 517 trails right across the country.
“This funding will be used to upgrade and maintain these trails – but also to promote them from a tourism perspective.
“I know we are coming into winter and the evenings are getting darker – but getting out for some fresh air, to clear the head, is so important.
“I want to finally thank all the community groups and Trail Management Organisations that keep our trails in good condition. You do wonderful work and I’m delighted to support you.”
Grant funding is being made available to Community Trail Management Organisation who are listed on the Sport Ireland Trails Register only.
There are eligible trails in all counties with the exception of Kildare, Meath and Monaghan. In these counties the registered walking trails are supported by the Local Authority.
There are different levels of grant funding available based on the total network length of the trails managed by each Community Trail Management Organisation as listed on the Sport Ireland Trails Register.
The grant funding may be used towards to the cost of purchasing equipment, small scale maintenance and/or marketing/promotion of the registered trail. Own labour costs will not be eligible under the Scheme.
The list of Community Trail Management Organisations that are eligible to apply for grant funding and grant funding available to each can be found at the following link: Funding for each Trail Management Organisation
Details of the grant funding allocation per county are available in the table below.
Eligible Community Trail Management Organisation funding per County
| County | Eligible grant funding* |
| Carlow* | €5,000 |
| Cavan | €5,500 |
| Clare | €45,000 |
| Cork* | €176,167 |
| Donegal | €42,500 |
| Dublin* | €8,333 |
| Galway | €77,500 |
| Kerry* | €147,000 |
| Kilkenny | €14,500 |
| Laois* | €13,250 |
| Leitrim* | €37,333 |
| Limerick* | €29,667 |
| Longford | €4,500 |
| Louth | €2,500 |
| Mayo | €66,500 |
| Offaly* | €10,250 |
| Roscommon* | €65,167 |
| Sligo* | €17,333 |
| Tipperary* | €128,167 |
| Waterford | €28,500 |
| Westmeath* | €9,833 |
| Wexford * | €73,000 |
| Wicklow | €38,500 |
| €1,046,000 |
* If a trail cross more than 1 county the funding allocation has been divided equally to each county.
Application process:
An application form will issue to all eligible Community Trail Management Organisations via Sport Ireland.
The grant funding will be processed by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development. Any community trail management organisation that is not on the list of eligible groups but is registered as managing a trail on the Sport Ireland Trails Register can contact communitytrails@pobal.ie to clarify the position.
Our Rural Future
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas.
Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors: National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027 sets out to strengthen and support the sustainable development of outdoor recreation in the coming years. Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors was launched in November 2022.
For more information on the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027 see here.
