Money to install 'Permanent reminders' and information at sites where significant events took place in the county during the Easter Rising are included in a new package of funds for County Galway.
The 1916 Heritage Trail is to receive a further €50,000 in funds as part of funding totalling €231,000 for rural recreation projects that will "boost to tourism and leisure activities" in Galway. County Galway is important in the history of the 1916 Rising as it saw the greatest level of action outside of Dublin.
The funding was announced today by the Minister for Regional Economic Development, Michael Ring, and is part of a €4.45 million package for rural recreation projects across the State.
The county council is also being allocated more than €138,000 to boost outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running, cycling and fishing in Galway with an emphasis on Connemara and the Aran Islands.
The funding has three strands, including: the installation of bike parking rails in towns and villages; the improvement or provision of hard-stand/parking areas at the start and end of walking/hill-walking trails; and the provision of weather stations adjacent to Lough Corrib which will provide real-time information on weather conditions, and is expected to be useful to those using the lough for fishing or angling.
A total of €46,250 will go to Forum Connemara for the continued development of the Western Way trail, specifically €42,050 for work on the Maam Cross section, and €4,200 for works at Tallaghma Stream.
Fine Gael Galway West TD, and Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources, Seán Kyne, has welcomed the funding which follows on "from last month’s €10 million ‘Town and Village Renewal’ investment to support the regeneration of rural towns and villages".
