First pick
Shelbourne Park
Park or garden · 140 m outside town
3.2 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
1.1 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: MrPONTEIRO · CC BY 3.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Ballynanty · parks, paths & countryside
Lower River Shannon SAC reaches the edge of Ballynanty
Protected sites cover 12% of the land within 5 km; the nearest is Lower River Shannon SAC. There are 4.7 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Ballynanty, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. 23 km of footpaths run through the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 2.5 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
4.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
23 km
2.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
12%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Lower River Shannon SAC
Woodland
5.7%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Ballynanty?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyLower River Shannon SAC reaches the edge of Ballynanty.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.
Ballynanty’s strongest suit is protected land close by, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Ballynanty 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 space4.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
57out of 100
Footpaths2.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
54out of 100
Protected for nature12%of the land within 5 km
93out of 100
Woodland5.7%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
79out 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
Ballynanty has the 11th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,678 to 3,454 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
Ballynanty2.5
Towns its size1.0
Co. Limerick towns2.5
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ballynanty4.7
Towns its size3.8
Co. Limerick towns4.7
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ballynanty100%
Towns its size85%
Co. Limerick towns91%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ballynanty stands out most for path per km²: only 10 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 | Limerick City Centre Limerick | 3.5 | 1% | 11% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Annacotty Limerick | 2 | 2% | 6.2% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 17 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 18 | Cleaboy Waterford | 1.2 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 19 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 20 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 21 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 22 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 23 | Callan Kilkenny | 0.7 | 0.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 24 | Tower Cork | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 27 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 28 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 30 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 31 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 33 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 34 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Clara Offaly | 0.2 | 6.1% | 6.4% | – |
| 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 Ballynanty’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 Ballynanty
The biggest is Shelbourne Park, 3.2 ha (8 acres).
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 Ballynanty 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%)
Ballynanty100%
Co. Limerick towns91%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The 3 protected sites within 5 km of Ballynanty
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 Ballynanty4.8%
Within 5 km12%
Co. Limerick towns9.6%
Typical Irish town1.8%
3 protected sites lie within 5 km of Ballynanty. 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.
Protected 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 38 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
38 km north-west21 km²
National Park
Killarney National Park
90 km south-west104 km²
2 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Ballynanty.
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
23 km of footpaths cross Ballynanty
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
23 km
over 9.3 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
5.7%
about 0.5 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
1
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BallynantyCo. Limerick townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths2.5
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BallynantyCo. Limerick townsTypical Irish town
Woodland5.7%
0%50%100%
Ballynanty has more footpath per km² than 54% of Irish towns and more woodland than 79% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
One waymarked trail starts near Ballynanty
23 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballynanty and the kilometre around it, 2.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Walking trail
Lough Derg Way68.9 km
For a shorter walk, the Lough Derg Way is 68.9 km, graded moderate. One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
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 Ballynanty: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 110 | 90 | 82 | 66 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 95 | 83 | 103 | 113 | 121 |
April is the driest month (66 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 121 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Ballynanty →
Things to do
1 waterfall and 6 playgrounds
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.
Per resident, playgrounds stand out most: Ballynanty has 1.5× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Waterfalls 1
Curragower Falls1.1 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 6
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Curragower Boat Club1.2 km from town
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
A garden or nature site to visit near Ballynanty
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Shannon Estuary WayNature site · 1.7 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Ballynanty
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
FarranshoneCaherdavinCorbally and King's IslandLimerick City CentreDockWestburyBallynanty
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballynanty | 100% | 4.7 | 2.5 | 12% |
| Farranshone 1.2 km | 100% | 5.2 | 2.8 | 11% |
| Caherdavin 1.3 km | 69% | 6.5 | 1.2 | 12% |
| Corbally and King's Island 2.2 km | 91% | 2.2 | 3.0 | 9.5% |
| Limerick City Centre 2.3 km | 100% | 10.3 | 3.5 | 11% |
| Dock 2.6 km | 100% | 5.9 | 2.5 | 12% |
| Westbury 3.0 km | 60% | 1.7 | 1.7 | 9.6% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ballynanty. Limerick City Centre has at least twice Ballynanty’s green space per resident.
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 Ballynanty
What is the biggest park in Ballynanty?
Shelbourne Park, 3.2 ha (8 acres), just outside the built-up area. Enclosed Dog let-out area (0.1 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Ballynanty?
Yes: 12% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 3 sites. Lower River Shannon SAC reaches Ballynanty.
What are the best walks near Ballynanty?
One waymarked trail starts within 5 km: the Lough Derg Way.
How many people in Ballynanty 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 Ballynanty?
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 Ballynanty near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 38 km north-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². One more is within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Ballynanty?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 waterfall; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Ballynanty’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
- 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).