Keep Ireland Open confirmed its Annual General Meeting will take plaec on Saturday 14 February 2026 at 11:00 at Tailors’ Hall, Back Lane, off High Street, Dublin 8, courtesy of An Taisce.
Chairperson Robert Dowds will open and welcome attendees. Guest speakers include author Tim Hannigan discussing his forthcoming book The Pathless Land on a 678-kilometre walk across Ireland and access issues, mountaineer Frank Nugent on Irish upland access as Chairperson of the Irish Uplands Forum, and Professor Bert Rima on the Ulster Federation of Rambling Clubs’ advocacy role.
The AGM will feature reports on access issues nationwide, examining the need for a legal framework to establish rights of way amid growing outdoor interest. Discussions will address Ireland’s limited countryside access compared to European neighbours and the unreliability of Ordnance Survey maps or GPS for public paths. The event highlights ongoing challenges in guaranteeing public enjoyment of landscapes.
The meeting provides a platform to explore joint activities on cross-border access matters. Keep Ireland Open advocates for improved provisions to match demand for outdoor recreation. Attendees can learn about persistent barriers to countryside enjoyment.
A written press release shared: Tim Hannigan has written numerous books on walkways and has now turned his attention to the pathless land: Finding A Way Across Ireland. This book is about a 678km journey on foot through Ireland, from Dunmore Head in County Kerry to Burr Point in County Down. Along the way he digs into the endlessly troubled history of the land and tries to work out why Ireland has ended up with perhaps the most limited provisions for public access to the countryside in Europe. Frank Nugent, a mountaineer, explorer and author, is Chairperson of the Irish Uplands Forum. Professor Bert Rima was chair of the Ulster Federation of Rambling Clubs (UFRC) from 2022 until 2025. Come to find out: Why a legal framework to establish Rights of Way in Ireland is urgently required at a time when so many more people want to enjoy our great outdoors. Why access to our beautiful landscape should be something we can take for granted but can’t be as things stand. How Ireland lags so far behind our European neighbours in terms of guaranteed access to our countryside and cannot rely on tracks shown on Ordinance Survey Maps or GPS systems.
