South Wicklow residents form committee to get Arklow greenway moving
The Wicklow PeopleA committee of residents in south Wicklow has been set up to push for movement on the stalled Arklow to Shillelagh greenway.
The move comes after a public meeting at the Courthouse Arts Centre in Tinahely, where members of the public and local elected representatives expressed their views about the importance of the project not being subject to any further prolonged delays.
Anthony Murphy, who chaired the meeting, reminded all present of the greenway’s potential — linking towns, encouraging tourism, and providing safe, scenic connections for walkers and cyclists.
The working committee will work to ensure that the community has a voice and a vehicle for action. Representatives pledged to bring concerns to Wicklow County Council, to press Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), and to work cross-party until the project advances.
Wicklow-Wexford TD Brian Brennan believes the greenway will be a “gamechanger for south county Wicklow” and has called on local communities to support the project.
“We need to present a united front and must all work together to get this over the line and I hope that subsequent actions from the meeting will be the catalyst to propelling this project to fruition.
“I raised the greenway recently with the chief executive of Wicklow County Council and stressed the frustration of communities across south Wicklow who have been waiting for years for this to progress.
“She has agreed to host a meeting with all relevant public representatives soon to discuss progress and next steps.”
Fellow TDs Malcolm Byrne and Fionntán O’Súilleabháin pointed to the €500,000 in funding already allocated to the project this year, cross-party support, and commitments to raise the matter with TII and national ministers. But they also acknowledged the truth: bureaucracy and delay remain the biggest obstacles.
Councillor Peter Stapleton spoke candidly about the failings of the system, noting the roles of three key actors — the community, politicians, and civil servants — and asking what has gone wrong.
John Mullen, former Wicklow councillor turned community builder with expertise in rural development outlined the history of the project and how landowners have been mapped, the buy-in is strong, yet the project remains at a standstill.
The meeting closed with Mr Murphy calling for volunteers to join the new committee and warning that, if necessary, a delegation will go directly to County Buildings to demand answers.
“Not getting the attention it deserves” was the clear message from the public meeting.
The completed route would interlink Arklow, Woodenbridge, Annacurra, Aughrim, Tinahely and Shillelagh.
Since 2023, the project has been stuck in Phase 2, with the options selection report submitted by Wicklow County Council to TII currently under review by officials.
In an update last month, TII stated its belief that the project was expected to move to the next phase of planning in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile Cllr Miriam Murphy raised issues with the emerging preferred route during the September monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council.
“The main issue is that the emerging preferred route is proposed to go right through Aughrim village from the GAA ground via the river bridge and the old station, past Fogarty’s Cottage and St Gordon’s Drive. We have never received any information about the update infrastructure involving that, such as car and bike parking, traffic management, everything that goes with that.
I think the residents are very worried that the freeway will be lost in the village of Aughrim if there isn’t any consideration of the planning.
In response director of services Joe Lane said the project is still under active review.
“The route selection is still being looked at. What Cllr Murphy is referring to is the route selection. Once we have got approval for that more detail designs will take place which will involve the consultation phase for this specific design and location.”
Greenway schemes in County Wicklow were allocated €1,650,000 in 2025. A freedom of information request in May also revealed that Wicklow County Council had spent €280,385 on the Arklow project, of which €245,708 was spent on consultancy/professional fees and expenses.
The proposed south Wicklow greenway is now more than 14 years in discussion, but still struggling to move beyond promises and paperwork.