Marking the gateway to Dublin Mountains Way

By Mary Dennehy

TREES were planted in Sean Walsh Park last Saturday to celebrate National Tree Week and to mark the start of the 42km Dublin Mountains Way walking trail – which begins in the popular local park.

Organised by Tallaght Community Council (TCC), the event was also part of an ongoing campaign to have Tallaght recognised as the ‘gateway to the Dublin Mountains’ – with the Dublin Mountain Way walking trail starting in Sean Walsh Park and running eastwards over the Dublin Mountains to Shankill.

TCC strongly believes that Tallaght is the ‘gateway to the Dublin Mountains’, with the community-led group campaigning for the area to be formally positioned as such in South Dublin County Council’s tourism strategy.

Tara De Buitléar, PRO of TCC, said: “Tallaght is located at the foothills of the mountains, has a strong mountain heritage, has unrivalled clear sweeping views of the Dublin Mountains from the town centre and superb transport links converging on the start of the Dublin Mountain Way trail behind Tallaght stadium.

“This existing trail is also within three minutes walking distance of three hotels.

“All these elements combined create a very strong tourist offering which needs to be recognised and promoted for Tallaght, the county town.”

Before the tree-planting ceremony, volunteers carried out a clean-up to prepare the site for the event – collecting 23 bags of litter from Sean Walsh Park and the Whitestown stream area.

Thanking all of the volunteers who made the event a success, Gerry Stockil, Chair of TCC: “This is our 4th National Tree Week planting around Tallaght and we are delighted to continue marking this important week in a very public and inclusive way.”

On the day, TCC was joined by Tallaght Person of the Year, and Kiltipper Ramblers founder, Simon Sweeney, the LoveTallaghtOutdoors volunteers, Rosaleen Murphy from Woodies, Social Circle autism support group and local residents.

TCC and the LoveTallaghtOutdoors team will be hosting a Spring Clean on April 22 (Dodder Day and World Earth Day) which will cover Sean Walsh Park, Watergate , the Balrothery Greenway and Dodder Valley park. All welcome to join in. Visit the TCC Facebook page for more.