Concern that Tracks and Trails viewers are getting lost in Laois mountains
Councillor voices concern for hikers visiting Slieve Bloom Mountains from other counties
Concerns have been raised about missing person and Search and Rescue cases following a popular television feature on walking trails in the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
Laois native Claire Byrne appeared on RTÉ’s Tracks and Trails programme in May 2025. The episode featured the Glenbarrow Old Mill Loop and Giant’s Grave Loop, trails in the Laois and Offaly regions of the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
At the October meeting of Laois County Council, councillors discussed the activity report of Laois Civil Defence, a volunteer organisation which supports emergency services, including mountain rescue. Laois Civil Defence responded to 32 missing person and Search and Rescue requests between January 1 and October 6, 2026.
Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley pointed to this figure, commenting: “And we can thank Claire Byrne for her Tracks and Trails I think. They’re coming from everywhere looking for the Claire Byrne Tracks and Trails, and I just wish we might be able to maybe improve the signage a bit, because for some reason or another these people that are coming in from other counties on these trails – which is great benefit for the county – but unfortunately they’re getting lost up in the Slieve Blooms.”
Cllr Dwane Stanley thanked Laois Civil Defence “for the great work that they do the whole time. [Laois Civil Defence Officer Damien Dollard] and his whole team, they do fantastic work.”
Mr Dollard told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that Laois Civil Defence’s activity this year has been comparable to last year, with the 32 missing person and Search and Rescue responses not representing any significant deviation from the norm.
He explained the role of Laois Civil Defence in missing person and Search and Rescue incidents:
“Civil Defence provides a Search and Rescue service, which is available to back up an Garda Síochána when required. That can range from missing persons on, say, the Slieve Bloom mountains, that kind of thing, where someone might have lost their way, they phone 999 looking for help, and inevitably we’ll dispatch ourselves.”
“And then our search teams would be trained in different areas such as: searching different terrains, utilising technologies such as drones, sonar, that kind of thing, where required, depending on the search environment.”
“We provide the Search and Rescue response to the Slieve Bloom Mountains, and we’d be backed up by SEMR (Southeastern Mountain Rescue) where required.”
Mr Dollard explained that many of the 32 responses this year involved people in mountain areas “phoning for help when it gets dark or the weather changes.” Other cases involve hikers who suffer injuries on their walk, in which case Laois Civil Defence, having experience with techniques for extrication from these regions, supports the National Ambulance Service.