Photo: P L Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.079% of Athenry’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
There are 1.3 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Athenry, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. Burren National Park begins 27 km away. Footpaths add up to 16 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 1.2 for every square kilometre.
How Athenry compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Athenry has the 16th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (4,032 to 5,319 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Chapelizod (7.8 km per km²) to Carrick-On-Shannon (0.2 km per km²).
Athenry falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 35 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapelizod Dublin | 7.8 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 2 | St Stephen's Green Dublin | 7.4 | 0.9% | 0.3% | 11% |
| 3 | Gurranebraher Cork | 7.4 | 1.6% | 0.5% | – |
| 4 | St Luke's Cork | 6 | 3.5% | 2.8% | – |
| 5 | Ballyboden Dublin | 5.9 | 4.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 6 | Montenotte Cork | 5.5 | 5.6% | 3.5% | – |
| 7 | Newcastle Galway | 5.4 | 1.7% | 15% | 29% |
| 8 | Tramore Cork | 4.7 | 4.6% | 3.7% | – |
| 9 | Knockrea Cork | 4.7 | 3.1% | 3.7% | – |
| 10 | Saggart Dublin | 4.6 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Woodquay and Nuns Island Galway | 4.5 | 0.7% | 14% | 32% |
| 12 | Inchicore Dublin | 4.5 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 13 | Dangan Galway | 4.3 | 3.9% | 18% | 21% |
| 14 | Mervue Galway | 4.3 | 3.6% | 11% | 25% |
| 15 | Bohernabreena Dublin | 4.3 | 2.9% | 5% | – |
| 16 | Tivoli Cork | 4 | 7% | 4.8% | – |
| 17 | Fair Hill Cork | 4 | 4.4% | 0.4% | – |
| 18 | Prospect and Newtown Pery Limerick | 3.6 | 1.5% | 9.9% | – |
| 19 | Poleberry Waterford | 2.4 | 0.6% | 7.2% | – |
| 20 | Castlegar Galway | 1.8 | 1.4% | 16% | 16% |
| 21 | Rathbane Limerick | 1.8 | 1.1% | 6% | – |
| 22 | Glanmire Cork | 1.7 | 13% | 6.6% | – |
| 23 | Kilcoole Wicklow | 1.5 | 4.3% | 5.8% | 37% |
| 24 | Glounthaune Cork | 1.2 | 8% | 6.1% | – |
| 25 | Athenry Galway | 1.2 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Lehenagh Cork | 1.2 | 2.5% | 0.3% | – |
| 27 | Newcastle Dublin | 1.1 | 0.9% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Ballybeg Waterford | 1 | 1.2% | 4.1% | – |
| 29 | Grange Waterford | 1 | 0.8% | 5% | – |
| 30 | Birr Offaly | 0.8 | 14% | 5.2% | – |
| 31 | Monasterevin Kildare | 0.6 | 16% | 2% | – |
| 32 | Courtown Wexford | 0.6 | 8.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 33 | Macroom Cork | 0.4 | 4.9% | 3.9% | – |
| 34 | Duleek Meath | 0.4 | 0.1% | 1.3% | – |
| 35 | Cashel Tipperary | 0.4 | 1.8% | 1.4% | – |
| 36 | Listowel Kerry | 0.4 | 2.3% | 4.8% | – |
| 37 | Mountmellick Laois | 0.3 | 0.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 38 | Tullow Carlow | 0.3 | 0.4% | 1.7% | – |
| 39 | Clonakilty Cork | 0.3 | 1.8% | 3.3% | 7.1% |
| 40 | Carrick-On-Shannon Leitrim | 0.2 | 2% | 0% | – |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Athenry’s urban area.
How close Athenry’s homes are to a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
No protected site lies within 5 km of Athenry
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
No site protected for nature lies within 5 km of Athenry.
Burren National Park is 27 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
Burren National Park
Connemara National Park
Wild Nephin National Park
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Athenry.
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
16 km of footpaths cross Athenry
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Athenry has less footpath per km² than 66% of Irish towns and less woodland than 80% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths in and around Athenry
16 km of footpaths are mapped in Athenry and the kilometre around it, 1.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Athenry; its footpaths are counted above.
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
The best walking months in Athenry: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 124 | 98 | 91 | 74 | 77 | 83 | 95 | 107 | 98 | 119 | 128 | 132 |
April is the driest month (74 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 132 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Athenry →
1 playground
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next to Athenry
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athenry | 79% | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0% |
| Craughwell 8.3 km | 34% | 7.3 | 0.1 | 3.4% |
| Oranmore 13 km | 58% | 0.9 | 0.3 | 5.2% |
| Baile Chláir 13 km | 55% | 1.3 | 0.3 | 3.5% |
| Ballybane 16 km | 78% | 2.5 | 1.5 | 12% |
| Loughrea 17 km | 91% | 4.0 | 0.4 | 4.7% |
| Murrough 17 km | 100% | 13.2 | 2.3 | 10% |
In Murrough, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Craughwell, Loughrea and Murrough have at least twice Athenry’s green space per resident.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Athenry
How many people in Athenry live near a park?
79% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Athenry?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Athenry near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 27 km south-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
Where Athenry’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).