Future Daingean – ideas for the next chapter

Daingean has done big things before. Here are ideas – some already moving, some just sparks – for making it an even better place to visit and to live. Tell us what you think.

Already moving

• The courthouse. Offaly County Council has a conservation masterplan for the 1807 courthouse, and in 2026 an application to the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund was ongoing – works might begin in 2029 if all goes to plan [OCC; Heritage Week].
• Opportunity sites. The Town Plan names the courthouse and the former St Conleth’s complex as opportunity sites; the canal-side complex suits tourism uses such as accommodation – a chance to treat a painful past with care and respect [OCC Town Plan].
• A Greenway destination. The Town Plan aims to establish and promote Daingean as a destination on the Grand Canal Greenway [OCC Town Plan].
• Bogs coming back to life. Rewetting nearby bogs opens the door to future walks, wildlife watching and learning [Bord na Móna PCAS].

Ideas we’d love your help with

• Heritage trails 2.0. Refresh the town trail with audio stories, old photos and the 1786 Molesworth map; add a bog trail (“Find the Sundew”), a canal-heritage trail (bridges, quay, canal store) and a family-history trail for people with Philipstown roots.
• Festivals that grow. Build on the Sundew Festival: a bog-and-canal food day, a heritage-crafts weekend (thatching, beekeeping, forging), a winter lantern walk on the Greenway, a writers’ day linking the canal towns.
• A Greenway welcome. Bike parking, water refill, a map board and a “Welcome to Daingean” point at the harbour.
• Stories of the bog. Record older people’s memories of turf-cutting, Bord na Móna and the Rhode station before they are lost.

Have your say

What would make you visit more often or stay longer? What should we celebrate? What’s missing? Share your idea →