Newport, Changing the Face of Ireland with Bikes!

Published on

Part of the (car)  road trip we did in the west of Ireland included a stop in Newport, a small village, until recently dismissed by many as a dreary ghost town not worthy of a visit. Population 700 or so people, billed now as the ‘Heart of the Great Western Greenway’, it is coming very much alive once again thanks to pedal power. As such, located on the Black Oak River right where it flows into Clew Bay, an inlet on the Atlantic Ocean, bicycle tourism is bringing about a grand resurgence in not only Newport but all of its outlying areas.

 

.

Virginia and Cayo stand in front of the grand railroad bridge that used to serve this once active linen town. The tower in the background is St. Patricks Catholic Church (aka Newport Cathedral).

 

 

 

 

Having arrived at low tide, we were told that the boat you see with its keel exposed was on the closer side of the channel last week.

 

..

Its two block downtown is tiny but mighty..

Two bike rental shops occupied prominent retail space in this tiny town that was coming back to life with farmer’s markets and spruced up fronts, etc.

 

 There was a lot of signage to remind us we were in Greenway territory

Even though we there during a work day, there were signs of the Greenway’s influence everywhere. Toward that end, several times during our trip, we had to slow down for constructions crews as they improved the once little traveled roads to Newport and the other small towns in the area..

One the other side of the new fence you see on the hill to the right, Greenway cyclists merrily pedaled away.

With their connection to Rhode Island, per the picture (click to enlarge) above, is Newport, Ireland not setting the lead for the rest of the world, in particular, America, to follow??

Hmmmmm !!!!!!!

btw:

How many Newports are there in the world?

just wanted to know roughly how many places (towns etc) are named Newport in the world.
jujodeasejujodeas…

Best Answer – Chosen by Voters

These are all of the Newports in the country.
* Newport, AR, United States
* Newport, DE, United States
* Newport, IN, United States
* Newport, KY, United States
* Newport, ME, United States
* Newport, MI, United States
* Newport, MN, United States
* Newport, MS, United States
* Newport, NE, United States
* Newport, NH, United States
* Newport, NJ, United States
* Newport, NY, United States
* Newport, NC, United States
* Newport, OH, United States
* Newport, OR, United States
* Newport, PA, United States
* Newport, RI, United States
* Newport, TN, United States
* Newport, VT, United States
* Newport, VA, United States
* Newport, WA, United States
That’s 21 so far.
* Newport (Quebec), Canada
* Newport (Isle of Wight), United Kingdom
* Nweport (Pembrokeshire), United Kingdom
* Newport (Shropshire), United Kingdom
* Newport (Dyfed), United Kingdom
* Newport (Gwent), United Kingdom
* NEWPORT, COUNTY MAYO, IRELAND
* NEWPORT, COUNTY TIPPERARY, IRELAND
* NEWPORT NSW 2106, AUSTRALIA
* NEWPORT VIC 3015, AUSTRALIA
That’s 10 more for a total of at least 31 Newports in the world. Any others may not be listed online as of yet.

Great Western Greenway reviewed in NY Times