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Old Rail Trail

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Old Rail Trail (Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway)
Bridge on the greenway
Map
Length42 kilometres (26 miles)[1]
LocationCounty Westmeath, Ireland
TrailheadsMary O'Rourke Bridge, Athlone[2]
Mullingar Newbrook[3]
UseCycling, walking
DifficultyEasy
SeasonAny
SurfaceTarmac
WebsiteAthlone.ie - Old Rail Trail
Map of the EuroVelo 2 route.

The Old Rail Trail[4][5] (also known as Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway)[6][7] is a long-distance cycling and walking trail in County Westmeath, which forms a section of the Dublin-Galway Greenway. It is a 42 kilometres long rail-trail over the disused Athlone-Mullingar rail line beginning in Athlone and ending in Mullingar.[8][9]

History

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Looking towards Athlone
Looking towards Mullingar

The route was originally opened in 1851 as a railway line by the Midland Great Western Railway and was the first to reach Athlone from Dublin.[10] The line was closed in 1987 with trains using the former Great Southern and Western Railway line to reach Athlone.[11]

The Moate-Garrycastle section was officially opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in October 2015.[12][6][7] In September 2015 the Westmeath Independent reported that the greenway could provide a "€15m boost" to the local economy.[13]

The section was extended up to Ballymahon road (White gates) in December 2016, and in October of 2022, the trail expanded to athlone.[14][15]

A new bridge to cross the River Shannon in Athlone was allocated €8.1m funding and began construction in 2021.[16][17][18] The bridge, later named the Mary O'Rourke Bridge,[2] opened in August 2023.[19]

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As of 2015, plans by a community development organisation in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, were underway to connect the Greenway to the Offaly Cycleways at Kilbeggan with a greenway to Tullamore, County Offaly.[20][21][22][23][24] The preferred route, extending the Kilbeggan - Ballycommon greenway,[25] including Belvedere House and Gardens and linking the Royal and Grand Canals,[26] was published by Westmeath County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland in October 2025.[27]

Access points

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This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2025)

The following is a list of the access points to the cycleway.[3]

Location Distance from Athlone (km) Distance to Mullingar (km) Coordinates
Mary O'Rourke Bridge - 43 53.424000, -7.943297[2]
Abbey Road, Athlone - 43 53.426547, -7.942494[28]
Whitegates, Athlone - 42 53.427995, -7.931805
Garrycastle, Athlone - 40 53.422411, -7.899979
Mount Temple 6 34 53.402258, -7.816096
Maghermore 8 32 53.399294, -7.781841
Moate (Dún na Sí Park) 12 28 53.398406, -7.736041
Moate (Station) 12 28 53.399177, -7.723514
Rosemount 18 22 53.415931, -7.641321
Lisnagree 21 19 53.415931, -7.641321
Streamstown 23 17 53.435258, -7.570478
Garhy (R391) 26.2 13.8 53.450029, -7.531310
Castletown Station 28 12 53.454793, -7.522229
Dysart 30 10 53.476641, -7.480747
Ballinea 36 4 53.502709, -7.431523
Bellmount 37.2 2.8 53.508298, -7.403209
Kilpatrick 38.4 1.6 53.509364, -7.390320
Mullingar Newbrook (Canal Link) 40 - 53.517095, -7.368273
Mullingar Newbrook (Roundabout Access) 42 - 53.509364, -7.390320

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Old Rail Trail Westmeath" (PDF). Westmeath County Council. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Hussey, Sinéad (1 May 2026). "Bridge in Athlone named in honour of Mary O'Rourke". RTÉ News. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Old Rail Trail - Route Map". Westmeath County Council. 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022.
  4. ↑ O'Shea, Susan (23 December 2019). "12 things to get you off the couch this Christmas". IrishExaminer.com.
  5. ↑ "Westmeath County Council - News". WestmeathCoCo.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Taoiseach to perform official opening of Mullingar to Garrycastle cycleway". Shannonside FM. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 Cusack, Adrian (18 May 2015). "Countdown is on to opening of Athlone to Mullingar cycleway". Westmeath Independent. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Midlands Greenway official opening on October 18". Westmeath Examiner. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Work underway at Moate Railway Station". Athlone Advertiser. 9 July 2015. p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015 – via PageSuite-Professional.co.uk.
  10. ↑ Casserley, H. C. (1974). Outline of Irish Railway History. Newton Abbot & North Pomfret: David & Charles. pp. 95–96. ISBN 0715363778. OCLC 249227042.
  11. ↑ "Clara Heritage Group : **(Part 4) - Full Steam Ahead to Streamstown (Well almost)**" – via Facebook.
  12. ↑ "Taoiseach to officially open Greenway this Sunday". Advertiser.ie. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Cusack, Adrian (2 September 2015). "local greenway could provide '€15m boost'". Westmeath Independent. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Fagan, Ronan (30 August 2018). "Greenway extension progress boost as funding is announced". Athlone Advertiser. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Council looking to push forward plans for extension of Greenway". Athlone Advertiser. 5 May 2016. p. 1. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016 – via pagesuite-professional.co.uk.
  16. ↑ Fagan, Ronan (12 November 2020). "Significant funding allocated towards the construction of new town bridge". Athlone Advertiser. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020.
  17. ↑ Grace, Robert (10 December 2015). "Councillors welcome latest proposed design for Athlone's cycleway bridge". Athlone Advertiser. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  18. ↑ Daly, Maria (9 October 2014). "Council confirm plans for new towncentre bridge as part of cycleway". Athlone Advertiser. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "Athlone Greenway Bridge Officially Opened". ittn.ie. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  20. ↑ "Kilbeggan track could be 'midlands Greenway'". Westmeath Examiner. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  21. ↑ "Taoiseach to open Athlone-Mullingar Greenway this afternoon". Shannonside FM. 18 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "Minister visits to view Kilbeggan to Mullingar greenway project". Westmeath Examiner. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Home". Kilbeggan to Mullingar Cycleway. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Council seeking views on proposed Kilbeggan to Mullingar greenway". Westmeath Independent. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Greenway link from Kilbeggan to Grand Canal officially opens". Westmeath Independent. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  26. ↑ Ginty, Cian (19 June 2025). "Plan to link Grand Canal and Royal Canal greenways in midlands". IrishCycle.com. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  27. ↑ "Preferred route for Kilbeggan to Mullingar greenway published". Westmeath Independent. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "Next greenway phase could open by Easter". Westmeath Independent. 13 August 2020.
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53°26′10″N 7°34′06″W / 53.435979°N 7.568348°W / 53.435979; -7.568348

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