- Save Cobh’s Right of Way Campaign won a legal victory on 22 July.
- The Port of Cork Company acknowledged a public Right of Way exists.
- The campaign fought for more than 8 years.
- The right of way was established in Acts from 1854 to 1884.
- Keep Ireland Open called the victory unusual in the Irish context
Keep Ireland Open Chairperson Robert Dowds has congratulated the Save Cobh’s Right of Way Campaign Team on their landmark victory protecting the Public Right of Way from Whitpoint to Westbourne Place at Deepwater Quay, Cobh. In 2019, the Port of Cork Company initiated legal proceedings claiming no Public Right of Way existed along the Quay and that walkers were “trespassers”. A group of citizens organised the campaign and fought for more than 8 years to protect access to the walk.
In a hearing in the Cork Circuit Court on 22 July, under Judge Sheehan, the Port of Cork Company was forced to acknowledge that a public Right of Way does exist and that their efforts to privatise the land have failed. The campaign was able to prove the right of way existed because it was established in law in a series of Acts of the British Parliament from 1854 to 1884. The group was aided by a legal team including Eoin Brady of FP Logue LLP Solicitors, Peter Leonard BL and John Rogers SC, who gave their services on a pro bono basis, along with research from Vandra Costello.
Dowds stated the achievement is most unusual in the Irish context because Ireland does not have legislation protecting access to the countryside for recreational purposes as in most European countries. He noted that many habitually used paths and access points have been closed, restricting access in many parts of the country, which is bad for the general public and the tourist industry.
Robert Dowds, Chair of Keep Ireland Open, shared, “On behalf of Keep Ireland Open, which campaigns for legislation to be enacted to protect and extend responsible access to the countryside for walkers and other recreational users, I wish to congratulate all the members and supporters of the Cobh Right of Way campaign.”
