Laois to be part of new European Columban Way pilgrimage walk

The Laois countryside is part of a groundbreaking new European tourist pilgrimage route starting in Ireland and passing eight other European countries, with a list of local accommodation and facilities now being compiled.

Laois County Council has welcomed that 16 km of off-road walkway will be developed in Laois along the Barrow Blueway, as part of the new 682km Columban Way. It will run near Portarlington and Stradbally, with potential for local businesses to benefit.

Laois CEO Michael Rainey is delighted at the development. 

"I am delighted to see Laois play a part in the Columban Way," he said at the April council meeting when announcing the venture.

Cllr Aisling Moran also welcomed the plan, saying "for five or six years I've been pushing the development of a Laois blueway to Carlow, it would be a fantastic revenue stream. We need to liaise with Carlow to use the old sugar factory as a campsite and motor home aire".

The Laois Tourism Officer had represented Laois County Council at the AGM of the Columban Way and Friends of Columbanus ROI and NI in April. The project began in May 2022 involving local authorities all along the Columban Way and the Friends of Columbanus in the republic and North of Ireland.

A grant of €250,000 was awarded from the Shared Island Local Authority Development Fund to prepare an audit and to map all sections of the route on a county-by-county basis. It also funded the preplanning for Columban Way Bell Cairns at key locations along the route, and the costs to identify and develop a clear community consultation and communication plan.

The proposed route in Ireland is a total of 682.54k long, from Nine Stones in Carlow to Bangor in Co. Down. The route through Laois follows the route of the Barrow Blueway, with 3.2km of it being a trail and 12.8km a greenway.

In blue, a map showing the Laois section of the Columban way, east of Portarlington and Stradbally.

"The Laois Tourism Officer is now drawing up a list of accommodation providers and facilities within reasonable distance of their respective routes to go on the website and a number of walks are planned for 2025 on various sections of the Way. Signage is also being considered for 2025," Laois County Council reports. 

The Irish Columban Way is part of a nine country 5,500km Via Columbani, created in memory of Irish Saint Columbanus.

A dedicated website Viacolumbani.com explains his legacy and the founding of the way. 

"Around 590, the Irish monk Columbanus left the island with twelve followers, including Saint Gall, to travel across Europe. A strong personality and highly educated, he met and advised many powerful figures of the Early Middle Ages. His biography, written in 640, sheds light on this troubled and poorly documented period.

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"In a letter addressed to Pope Gregory the Great, Saint Columbanus was the first to use the term "Europe" as a cultural, political and religious entity. His actions, along with those of his disciples and of the monks who followed his rule for nearly two centuries, helped bring peace and stability to wide areas of the continent.

"The Via Columbani today follows in their footsteps, crossing nine countries of modern Europe."