First pick
Merlin Woods
Wood or forest
58 ha6.9 km of path
1 h 35 minto walk all 6.9 km of path
1.2 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Elfy4eva · CC BY-SA 4.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Murrough · parks, paths & countryside
Murrough has more park space per resident than nearly 9 in 10 Irish towns
There are 13.2 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Murrough, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. The sea makes up 26% of the area within 5 km. Burren National Park begins 19 km away.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
13.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
41 km
2.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
10%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Galway Bay Complex SAC
Woodland
5.1%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
26%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Murrough?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam13.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 88% of Irish towns.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.On the coast26% of the area within 5 km is sea.Countryside close byBurren National Park starts 19 km south.
Murrough’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Murrough 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.
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
83out of 100
Public green space13.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
88out of 100
Footpaths2.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
51out of 100
Protected for nature10%of the land within 5 km
89out of 100
Woodland5.1%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
76out of 100
The sea26%of the area within 5 km
86out of 100
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.
Towns its size
Murrough has the 12th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,566 to 3,263 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Ballybrack (8.6 km per km²) to Sixmilebridge (0 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Murrough2.3
Towns its size0.7
Co. Galway towns2.1
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Murrough13.2
Towns its size3.6
Co. Galway towns5.5
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Murrough100%
Towns its size85%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Murrough stands out most for park space per resident: only 5 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballybrack Dublin | 8.6 | 8% | 0.2% | 36% |
| 2 | Sunday's Well Cork | 7.3 | 2.7% | 0.4% | – |
| 3 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 4 | Carna Dublin | 5.4 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 6 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Decies Dublin | 4.8 | 7.2% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Mayfield Cork | 4.7 | 5.3% | 3.3% | – |
| 9 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 10 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 11 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 12 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 13 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 14 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 15 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 16 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 17 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 18 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 19 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Callan Kilkenny | 0.7 | 0.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 21 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Kenmare Kerry | 0.6 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.4% |
| 23 | Athboy Meath | 0.6 | 1.1% | 1.5% | – |
| 24 | Bundoran Donegal | 0.5 | 2% | 5.1% | 35% |
| 25 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 26 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 27 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 29 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 30 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 33 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 34 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 37 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 38 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 39 | Carndonagh Donegal | 0.1 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| 40 | Sixmilebridge Clare | 0 | 0.7% | 2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Murrough’s neighbourhood.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Murrough
The biggest is Merlin Woods, 58 ha (145 acres).
Aunteen Woods
Wood or forest
11 ha2.4 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.4 km of path
1.0 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
Everyone in Murrough lives within a 5-minute walk of 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).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Murrough100%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Protected sites cover 10% of the land within 5 km of Murrough
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.
Inside Murrough14%
Within 5 km10%
Co. Galway towns14%
Typical Irish town1.8%
6 protected sites lie within 5 km of Murrough. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 7.5% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Galway Bay Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 147 km² · reaches Murrough
NPWS pageInner Galway Bay SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 135 km² · reaches Murrough
NPWS pageCregganna Marsh NHANatural Heritage Area · 1.7 km² · 2.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageCregganna Marsh SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 1.6 km² · 2.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 257 km² · 2.5 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 176 km² · 5.0 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
National Parks
Burren National Park is 19 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.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Burren National Park
19 km south21 km²
National Park
Connemara National Park
60 km north-west21 km²
National Park
Wild Nephin National Park
85 km north171 km²
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Murrough.
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).
Footpaths and woods
41 km of footpaths cross Murrough
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+.
Footpaths
41 km
over 17.8 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
5.1%
about 0.9 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
MurroughCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths2.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
MurroughCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Woodland5.1%
0%50%100%
Murrough has more footpath per km² than 51% of Irish towns and more woodland than 76% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Footpaths in and around Murrough
41 km of footpaths are mapped in Murrough and the kilometre around it, 2.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Murrough; 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Murrough: 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) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 123 | 100 | 92 | 72 | 76 | 81 | 93 | 108 | 100 | 120 | 134 | 140 |
April is the driest month (72 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 140 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Murrough →
The coast
Murrough is a coastal town
26% of the area within 5 km of Murrough is sea. 2 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.
Ballyloughane BeachGood (2025) · 0.1 km from town
beaches.ieGrattan Road BeachSufficient (2025) · 3.4 km from town
beaches.ieNone of the 2 is rated excellent this season.
Bathing water classes: EPA, latest season (CC BY 4.0). Sea: the area outside CSO and ONS land outlines. Check today’s water quality on beaches.ie
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 1 hill or peak and 1 waterfall
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.
2Viewpoints1Hills and peaks1Waterfalls1Picnic sites18Playgrounds4.8× the typical Irish town, per resident2Slipways
Per resident, playgrounds stand out most: Murrough has 4.8× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Leadmine Hill1.3 km from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 18
Merlin Woods Playground1.0 km from town
DirectionsTreasure Island Kids Zone1.5 km from town
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Plus 2 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
3 gardens and nature sites to visit near Murrough
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Rinville ParkNature site · 2.1 km from town
Its pageEyre SquareGarden · 2.3 km from town
Its pageCircle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative GardenGarden · 4.8 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Murrough
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
MervueBallybaneEyre SquareCastlegarWoodquay and Nuns IslandCladdaghMurrough
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murrough | 100% | 13.2 | 2.3 | 10% |
| Mervue 1.5 km | 89% | 17.4 | 4.3 | 11% |
| Ballybane 1.5 km | 78% | 2.5 | 1.5 | 12% |
| Eyre Square 2.2 km | 100% | 13.0 | 3.4 | 14% |
| Castlegar 3.1 km | 64% | 8.3 | 1.8 | 16% |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island 3.3 km | 100% | 9.6 | 4.5 | 14% |
| Claddagh 3.7 km | 100% | 7.2 | 2.4 | 17% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Murrough.
How to read these numbers
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 Murrough
Is there protected countryside near Murrough?
Yes: 10% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 6 sites. Galway Bay Complex SAC reaches Murrough.
Where can you swim near Murrough?
The nearest bathing water is Ballyloughane Beach, 0.1 km from town: Good (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Murrough live near a park?
100% 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 Murrough?
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 Murrough near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 19 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Murrough?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 2 viewpoints, 1 hill or peak, 1 waterfall and 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Murrough’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
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Bathing water. EPA: bathing water quality, 2025 season
- 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).