The Offaly Way () is a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is long and begins in

Cadamstown Cadamstown, historically called ''Ballymacadam'' (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is ...

and ends at Lemanaghan, on the

R436 road The R436 road is a regional road in Ireland linking Kilbeggan, County Westmeath and Ferbane, County Offaly. It passes through the town of Clara, County Offaly, Ballycumber, through cutaway peat bogs to Ferbane where it terminates at the N62. T ...

between the towns of

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...

and

Ferbane Ferbane (; ) is a town on the north bank of the River Brosna in County Offaly, Ireland, between Birr and Athlone at the junction of the N62 National secondary road and the R436 regional road. The name of the town is said to come from the w ...

. It is typically completed in two days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

and is managed by

Offaly County Council Offaly County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Uíbh Fhailí) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in County Offaly, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by t ...

Bord na Mona Cucerdea ( hu, Oláhkocsárd, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bord (''Bord''), Cucerdea, and Șeulia de Mureș (''Oláhsályi''). The commune is located in the sout ...

and the Offaly Integrated Development Company. The trail provides a link between the Slieve Bloom Way and the Grand Canal Way. Starting at Cadamstown, the trail follows an old

mass path A mass path is a pedestrian track or road connecting destinations frequently used by rural communities, traditionally leading to a church celebrating Sunday Mass. They were most common during the centuries that preceded motorised transportation i ...

along the banks of the Silver River to reach

Kilcormac Kilcormac () is a small town in County Offaly, Ireland, located on the N52 at its junction with the R437 regional road, between the towns of Tullamore and Birr. It is a small town of 935 people (as of the 2016 census), many of whom were prev ...

. It then crosses

Boora bog Boora Bog (Irish ''Portach na Buaraí'') is a cutaway peat bog situated in County Offaly, Ireland. Peat was harvested for fuel between the 1950s and 1970s, and the land is now being reclaimed for agricultural and eco-tourism use. There was a la ...

, an area noted for its

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

archaeology. It then passes through the Turraun Nature Reserve before crossing the Grand Canal and following the

River Brosna The River Brosna ( ga, An Bhrosnach) is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, flowing through County Westmeath and County Offaly. The river rises in Lough Owel north of Mullingar and is a tributary of the River Shannon. It meets t ...

to Lemanaghan. A review of the National Waymarked Ways found low usage of the Offaly Way and recommended a reduction in the amount of walking on tarred roads, better interpretation of the historic sites along the route, consideration to extending the route to

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise (Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ce ...

Pollagh Pollagh (), also spelled Pullough, is a village in County Offaly, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland. It is a rural village on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal and lies between Ferbane and Tullamore. Much of th ...

or Clara and consideration to promoting the trail as a dual walking and cycling route.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Offaly Way
a
IrishTrails.ie

a
Shannon Region Trails
{{coord missing, County Offaly Geography of County Offaly Tourist attractions in County Offaly Long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland