Ireland’s New Greenways Keep Opening
A flat, off-road path on an old railway line, water on one side, a harbor town with a coffee stop at the far end. That’s the simplest brilliant day in Ireland, and the country keeps building more of them. Ireland’s greenways now run to six long-distance routes, and the 2026 additions sit close to Dublin: a finished canal run down to Athy and a port-side path along the Tolka Estuary, with two more taking shape. They run on old rail beds and canal towpaths, so the ground stays gentle and ridable for almost any client. Few active days fold into an Ireland trip this easily.
What’s open (or nearly) for 2026
Start with the Grand Canal towpath to Athy. The Barrow Blueway, sometimes listed as the Grand Canal Blueway, runs 46km from Robertstown in County Kildare down through Rathangan, Monasterevin, and Vicarstown to Athy. In build since 2020 and finishing in the first quarter of 2026, it’s flat the entire way, with the canal mirroring the sky beside you and lock gates marking off the miles. Walkers, cyclists, and paddlers all share it, so the client who’d rather be on the water than next to it can be.
Closer in, the Dublin Port Tolka Estuary Greenway opened its first phase in September 2024 and adds a second stretch in 2026. It threads the northern edge of the working port, where three raised platforms look straight out over Dublin Bay to Bull Island, the Clontarf seafront, and the Howth peninsula across the water. It’s a piece of Fáilte Ireland’s Dublin Coastal Trail, the run of coast from Skerries down to Killiney. The 2026 phase carries it to the eastern tip of the port and a new 800-metre linear park.
The one most clients can ride straight out of the city is the original, and still the finest. The Royal Canal Greenway is Ireland’s longest at 130km, leaving Dublin behind and following the water through Kildare, Meath, and Westmeath into Longford, past lock-keepers’ cottages and the odd heron working the reeds. Bikes ride free on Irish Rail, so a client can pedal a calm stretch in the morning and roll back into the city by lunch.
Grand Canal and Barrow Blueway: 46km, Robertstown to Athy, finishing Q1 2026
Dublin Port Tolka Estuary Greenway: phase one open since 2024, phase two in 2026
Royal Canal Greenway: 130km, ridable from Dublin, open now
Two routes still in build
Two more are on the way, and both are worth penciling in for future trips. The Broadmeadow Way will run 6km along the Malahide Estuary, linking the seaside villages of Malahide and Donabate, and its estuary bridge is already in place. The path hugs a live railway line and crosses a protected bird habitat, so construction moves in set seasonal windows, with the causeway and landward sections carrying through into 2027. The payoff will be a ride with the tide moving beside you the whole way across.
The South East Greenway is on a similar arc. Phase one, from New Ross to Glenmore, has carried riders since 2023, and the Waterford-side section is working toward a 2027 finish as the North Quays access point comes together. For the southeast right now, the Waterford Greenway is the one to sell: 46km of paved old railway from Waterford city to Dungarvan, over 11 bridges and three viaducts, through the brick-lined 400-metre Ballyvoyle Tunnel, with the Copper Coast and the Comeragh foothills trading places out the sides.
Why greenways are an easy yes for active clients
A greenway is the rare active day that suits nearly everyone at the table. The routes sit on old rail beds and canal banks, so the gradients stay gentle and the surface is paved or hard-packed. A client who hasn’t been on a bike in years can roll out 20km on the flat, pull in for lunch in a canal town, and arrive home calling it the best day of the trip.
Most greenway towns have a hire shop that rents at one end and collects at the other for a small fee, so the gear and the getting-there take care of themselves. You don’t need to know every trail to sell this well. You need to know it’s there, and who to hand it to.
How to fold a greenway into a trip you’re already booking
For a Dublin base, the Royal Canal and the Dublin Port path both fit as a half-day. A morning in the galleries, then a flat afternoon by the water and back in town for an early dinner. It hands a city stay a lungful of fresh air without spending a travel day. For clients weighing where to go beyond the capital, the southeast pairs a Waterford city stay with the greenway and an easy ferry-and-castle day around New Ross.
Pacing is the real reason to reach for one. A greenway day runs slow by design, and most clients who say they want to see everything are relieved to be handed one. Drop it in between two bigger days and the whole itinerary breathes.
The money behind the build-out
Ireland is backing this in earnest. About €62 million went to greenways alone for 2026, part of a €360 million active-travel budget, which is why the map looks different season to season. The growth is concentrated around Dublin, right where your clients are already landing.
The short version
The Grand Canal route to Athy and the Dublin Port path are the new sections to know for 2026. The Royal Canal is the easy ride straight from the city. The Broadmeadow Way and the Waterford-side South East Greenway are the ones to watch for next year.
Got a client who’d love a slow morning on two wheels somewhere in their Ireland trip? Plan a Trip with North & Leisure and we’ll build the greenway day into the route.