The Grand Canal and Greenway – Daingean’s street of water

The Grand Canal links Dublin with the River Shannon. It reached Philipstown in early 1797, and in the 1830s passage-boats plied daily between Dublin and Shannon Harbour [Offaly History]. The last working cargo barge passed through in 1960 [Wikipedia]. Today the canal is all about leisure – and its towpath has become one of Ireland’s finest greenways.

The Offaly Greenway at a glance

• 70 km of flat, traffic-free path from Edenderry in the east to Shannon Harbour in the west, through Daingean and Tullamore [OCC].
• Officially opened in October 2024; about €9 million invested; delivered by Offaly County Council in partnership with Waterways Ireland [OCC; Irish Independent].
• For walkers and cyclists of all ages and abilities, with “discovery and recovery” points being developed along the route [OCC].
• Ballycommon Trailhead (opened July 2025) has parking and EV charging where the Greenway meets the Kilbeggan link [TII; Offaly Independent].
• The Grand Canal Way walking route runs 117 km from Dublin to Shannonbridge [Waterways Ireland].

In Daingean: Molesworth Bridge and the harbour, the former canal store and stone quay (protected structures), the fishing platform and the canal-side playground [OCC Town Plan; Waterways Ireland].

See it from the air: the Grand Adventures project (grandadventures.ie) is filming the canal stretch by stretch by drone. Watch the Daingean stretches and plan your ride. [Link when live]

Be canal-kind: share the path, ring your bell, keep dogs on leads near wildlife and take litter home. The canal is a proposed Natural Heritage Area (Grand Canal pNHA 002104) [Bord na Móna plan]. Check Waterways Ireland notices before you go.