Environment
The Great Western Greenway Mulranny / Newport
By Matthew Carolan
23, Mar 2011 - 09:39

The Great Western Greenway Mulranny / Newport shortlisted for European Destination of Excellence Awards 2011

Mulranny Tourism Group received a welcome boost with news that their submission for the European Destination of Excellence for Sustainable Tourism has been shortlisted along with two other locations in Ireland. This year's theme is tourism destinations which have regenerated a physical site of local heritage and converted it into a tourism attraction to be used as a catalyst for wider local regeneration. The destination will have identified ways to promote a high quality environment, to cope with the seasonality issue and to rebalance the tourist flow towards non-traditional destinations.

The Mulranny submission related to west Mayo's railway heritage, the former Westport to Achill Midland Great Western Railway Line and Hotel at Mulranny. This once magnificent built heritage had declined into dereliction over the last century, but in a remarkable decade the hotel was restored to its former glory, while the old railway line reemerged as the Great Western Greenway.

The economic decline that led to the demise was described as ‘a blight that had brought our railway heritage to ruin'. The submission described how ‘by the turn of the 21st century, Mulranny hotel's curtilage was overrun, its elegant facade was weathered and dulled, its blue Bangor slated roof was caving in. The unique Mulranny Causeway was in poor repair, its bridges nearing expiry while the hotel's network of old walks on ‘Lookout Hill', long since abandoned, were overrun with invaders, Rhododendron, Japanese Knotweed and Gunnera. Mulranny was but a glimmer of its former self, the engine room of its economy stalled, its once bright prospects utterly diminished. With seventy years since the last train, the railway line had over time been pilfered, broken up and finally, in a mystifying act, ‘sold off in lots'. Obliterated, built over and derelict the grandeur of its past was near lost to living memory. The elegant cut stone bridges at Newport and Bunahowna were reduced to oversized relics with no role, but to act as the last bastions of a golden bygone era. Hard to believe, that a century hence the hustle and bustle of steam engined trains had trundled and shunted through this spectacular countryside and that Victorian visitors to Mulranny had dined to standards modeled on Buckingham Palace'

The submission went on to tell of the remarkable recovery that started with the restoration of the former railway hotel at Mulranny in 2005, described as ‘one of the one of the great built heritage conservation projects of our time' and how the development of Newport Hotel had renewed a ‘gap in the streetscape fabric' in Newport town. It detailed how the four communities of Mulranny, Tiernaur, Deradda and Newport established the Burrishoole Loop Walks to support tourism, which prepared the ground for the disused railway line to reemerge as the Great Western Greenway from Achill and Westport, with the support of some 190 landowners. It described how the old walks on Lookout hill had been cleared and were now part of a national loop walk, described by the Irish Independent as ‘one of the most beautiful short walks on this Island'. It described how ‘the appearance of the Greenway, the Deradda Loop Walk and Mulranny in Tracks & Trails not only elevated the area in the national consciousness, but also recorded a historic achievement. The sense of pride that the program evokes is a reflection of an excellent production that reflected a remarkable local achievement'.

The document concluded that ‘these heritage regeneration projects had brought resounding economic, recreation, social and health benefits, with the hotels, greenway and walks combining to act as a portal, to some of Europe's finest landscapes, seascapes, heritage and hospitality. It stated that ‘Mulranny and Newport were now emerging as quality tourism destinations based on their diverse geography, accommodation, dining and recreation facilities, with the success of the new greenway providing the impetus for expansion to neighbouring Achill and Westport.' It summarized that ‘the Great Western Greenway offers a unique town and country trail experience that can compete internationally'.

Nuala Ginnelly Chairperson of Mulranny Tourism commented; ‘We are delighted to get this once in a lifetime opportunity to promote the Great Western Greenway and the towns and villages it serves as an international destination of note to the benefit of the entire county'. She said ‘a remarkable transformation had happened in the parish of Burrishoole on foot of huge community input and the generosity of local landowners.' She asked that ‘the communities along the route would continue in that vain and make every effort to have the area looking at its very best for the adjudication due on the 3rd week of April.