Large section of Offaly Way closes to public due to access issues
A large section of the Offaly Way has been closed to the public for several months, due to access issues.
A Keep Out sign has been placed at the Way's start in Cadamstown and the route is barred for several kilometres between the village and Soldier's Hill, thereby shutting off arguably the most scenic section of the trail.
A notice in the Sports Ireland website states, "Please Note: Due to access issues the trail is closed between the Cadamstown Trailhead and Soldiers Hill (Map 1). The remainder of the Offaly Way remains open and can be accessed from the designated trailheads in Kilcormac, Lough Boora Parklands, Turraun Wetlands & Lemanaghan."
The Offaly Way has been open for about a quarter of a century. It's a two day route covering 37 kilometres. It was conceived as being a connection between the Slieve Bloom Way and the Grand Canal Way. Now, because of the access issue, this conception has been undermined.
The access problem also means that walkers and visitors can no longer see the beautiful, medieval Ardara Bridge, which is only a short walk from Cadamstown.
THE Office of Public Works has told The Midland Tribune that the famous Offaly bridge was possibly built in the late 1200s.
Over the years the bridge has often been referred to as “medieval”, but some have criticised this, arguing that it is of a later date, perhaps the 16 or 1700s.
The revelation about its date came following an email sent to the OPW by this newspaper, pointing out that the bridge has been concealed behind a huge amount of scaffolding since 2006. It's very disappointing that after 18 years the restoration work on the bridge still hasn't been completed. Back in 2006 many were hopeful that the work would be completed in a far shorter period of time, perhaps a year or two.
Ardara is one of Offaly's finest bridges, if not the finest. It is a magnificent structure set in a beautiful location.
The bridge is fully managed by the OPW.
A statement from the OPW Press Office pointed out that, “Cadamstown/Ardara Bridge which spans the Silver River was unfortunately in a very poor state of preservation when taken into state care in 2006. Considerable conservation works have been carried out, in the main to prevent the bridge from collapse. Archaeological evidence would suggest that it could possibly have been constructed as early as the late 13th Century, with some 17th & 18th Century interventions.
“Due to the vulnerable nature of the structure this project has proven to be extremely technically challenging, and as a result has had to be subdivided into a number of phases to ensure each phase can be carried out in a sustainable manner.
“The conservation team have been working on the design for the final phase of the project over recent months and the project is included in the Business plan for 2024.”
All in all, between never ending scaffolding and inaccessibility it's a bad state of affairs for one of Offaly's finest heritage structures. It's also a bad state of affairs when a fine trail, open for many years, is now shut off to walkers.