Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0Almost everyone in Garryowen lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Garryowen add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. 9.6% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Lower River Shannon SAC. 34 km of footpaths run through the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 3.4 for every square kilometre.
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Garryowen?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Garryowen’s strongest suit is parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
How Garryowen 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.
Garryowen has the 15th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (4,899 to 5,991 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From St Stephen's Green (7.4 km per km²) to Clonakilty (0.3 km per km²).
Against towns its size, Garryowen stands out most for path per km²: only 14 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 31 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Stephen's Green Dublin | 7.4 | 0.9% | 0.3% | 11% |
| 2 | Portobello Dublin | 7.2 | 1.2% | 0.1% | 8.8% |
| 3 | Gillabbey Cork | 7.1 | 2.6% | 0.5% | – |
| 4 | Glasheen Cork | 6.4 | 2.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 5 | Ballyboden Dublin | 5.9 | 4.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 6 | Edmondstown Dublin | 5.1 | 7.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 7 | Ballinlough Cork | 4.9 | 3.2% | 3.8% | – |
| 8 | Rathgar Dublin | 4.8 | 3.5% | 0.1% | – |
| 9 | Knocknaheeny Cork | 4.7 | 2.4% | 0.2% | – |
| 10 | Knockrea Cork | 4.7 | 3.1% | 3.7% | – |
| 11 | Woodquay and Nuns Island Galway | 4.5 | 0.7% | 14% | 32% |
| 12 | Inchicore Dublin | 4.5 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 13 | Fair Hill Cork | 4 | 4.4% | 0.4% | – |
| 14 | Ayrfield Dublin | 3.8 | 1.8% | 5.3% | 19% |
| 15 | Garryowen Limerick | 3.4 | 0.5% | 9.6% | – |
| 16 | Salthill Galway | 3.3 | 1% | 15% | 46% |
| 17 | Harmonstown Dublin | 3.2 | 3.8% | 5.3% | 23% |
| 18 | Galvone Limerick | 2.9 | 0.7% | 8.3% | – |
| 19 | Sutton Dublin | 2.5 | 0.7% | 12% | 48% |
| 20 | Carrigtwohill Cork | 1.8 | 5.1% | 12% | – |
| 21 | Ballinfoile and Terryland Galway | 1.7 | 2.1% | 22% | 13% |
| 22 | Rathcoole Dublin | 1.6 | 2.4% | 0% | – |
| 23 | Blessington Wicklow | 1.4 | 10% | 1.9% | – |
| 24 | Glounthaune Cork | 1.2 | 8% | 6.1% | – |
| 25 | Inishkenny Cork | 1.1 | 4.2% | 0.2% | – |
| 26 | Ballybeg Waterford | 1 | 1.2% | 4.1% | – |
| 27 | Ardee Louth | 0.9 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 28 | Kinsale Cork | 0.9 | 1.3% | 0% | 21% |
| 29 | Ferrybank Kilkenny | 0.8 | 4.1% | 6.6% | – |
| 30 | Monasterevin Kildare | 0.6 | 16% | 2% | – |
| 31 | Carrick-on-Suir Tipperary | 0.5 | 9.9% | 4% | – |
| 32 | Duleek Meath | 0.4 | 0.1% | 1.3% | – |
| 33 | Ballybofey-Stranorlar Donegal | 0.4 | 7.7% | 2.3% | – |
| 34 | Carrickmacross Monaghan | 0.3 | 5.5% | 0% | – |
| 35 | Tipperary Tipperary | 0.3 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 36 | Mountmellick Laois | 0.3 | 0.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 37 | Tullow Carlow | 0.3 | 0.4% | 1.7% | – |
| 38 | Roscrea Tipperary | 0.3 | 3.4% | 7.9% | – |
| 39 | Oranmore Galway | 0.3 | 2% | 5.2% | 13% |
| 40 | Clonakilty Cork | 0.3 | 1.8% | 3.3% | 7.1% |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Garryowen’s neighbourhood.
How close Garryowen’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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
9.6% of the land around Garryowen is protected for nature
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.
2 protected sites lie within 5 km of Garryowen. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 4% 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.
Burren National Park is 42 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
Killarney National Park
2 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Garryowen.
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).
34 km of footpaths cross Garryowen
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
Garryowen has more footpath per km² than 62% of Irish towns and less woodland than 93% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
One waymarked trail starts near Garryowen
34 km of footpaths are mapped in Garryowen and the kilometre around it, 3.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
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.
The best walking months in Garryowen: 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) | 104 | 86 | 77 | 64 | 65 | 73 | 76 | 88 | 78 | 98 | 108 | 114 |
April is the driest month (64 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 114 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Garryowen →
1 waterfall and 5 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.
Every named place, with directions
Waterfalls 1
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
A garden or nature site to visit near Garryowen
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next to Garryowen
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garryowen | 100% | 1.4 | 3.4 | 9.6% |
| Galvone 0.9 km | 100% | 4.4 | 2.9 | 8.3% |
| Prospect and Newtown Pery 1.7 km | 100% | 6.8 | 3.6 | 9.9% |
| Rathbane 1.7 km | 74% | 14.1 | 1.8 | 6% |
| Corbally and King's Island 1.7 km | 91% | 2.2 | 3.0 | 9.5% |
| Limerick City Centre 1.8 km | 100% | 10.3 | 3.5 | 11% |
| Dock 2.3 km | 100% | 5.9 | 2.5 | 12% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Garryowen. Galvone, Prospect and Newtown Pery and Rathbane have at least twice Garryowen’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 Garryowen
Is there protected countryside near Garryowen?
Yes: 9.6% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 2 sites. The nearest is Lower River Shannon SAC, 0.6 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Garryowen?
One waymarked trail starts within 5 km: the Lough Derg Way.
How many people in Garryowen 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 Garryowen?
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 Garryowen near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 42 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 Garryowen?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 waterfall; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Where Garryowen’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).