First pick
Thurles Town Park
Park or garden
2.4 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
Centralin the middle of Thurles
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Sarah777 · Public domain87%near a park
Outdoors in Thurles · parks, paths & countryside
Lower River Suir SAC reaches the edge of Thurles
1.2% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Lower River Suir SAC. Footpaths add up to 12 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 0.5 for every square kilometre. 87% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field.
Near a park
87%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
3.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
12 km
0.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
1.2%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Lower River Suir SAC
Woodland
2.8%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Thurles?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyLower River Suir SAC reaches the edge of Thurles.Few mapped footpaths0.5 km of path per km²; the typical Irish town has 2.1.
Thurles’ strongest suit is protected land close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Against other towns
How Thurles 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 walk87%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
41out of 100
Public green space3.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
44out of 100
Footpaths0.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
14out of 100
Protected for nature1.2%of the land within 5 km
44out of 100
Woodland2.8%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
52out 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
Thurles has the 5th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (6,971 to 9,616 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Temple Bar (7.9 km per km²) to Buncrana (0.3 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Thurles0.5
Towns its size2.2
Co. Tipperary towns0.5
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Thurles3.4
Towns its size4.0
Co. Tipperary towns3.2
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Thurles87%
Towns its size96%
Co. Tipperary towns83%
Typical Irish town92%
Thurles falls furthest behind on path per km², where 35 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Temple Bar Dublin | 7.9 | 1.1% | 0.1% | 6.2% |
| 2 | Sandyford Dublin | 7.5 | 4.8% | 0.3% | 6.2% |
| 3 | South Gate Cork | 6.8 | 1% | 1.3% | – |
| 4 | Grand Canal Dock Dublin | 6.6 | 0.9% | 1.4% | 16% |
| 5 | Glasnevin Dublin | 6.6 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Dubber Dublin | 5.7 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Ballybough Dublin | 5.5 | 1.4% | 1% | 9% |
| 8 | Booterstown Dublin | 5.4 | 2.2% | 0.2% | 29% |
| 9 | Turner's Cross Cork | 5.3 | 2.5% | 1.3% | – |
| 10 | Clongriffin Dublin | 5 | 0.2% | 6.6% | 31% |
| 11 | Cherry Orchard Dublin | 4.6 | 0.5% | 0% | – |
| 12 | Baldoyle Dublin | 3.7 | 0.3% | 11% | 40% |
| 13 | Perrystown Dublin | 3.6 | 1.8% | 0% | – |
| 14 | Donaghmede Dublin | 3.5 | 2.7% | 6.2% | 31% |
| 15 | Raheny Dublin | 3.1 | 2.8% | 11% | 46% |
| 16 | Farranshone Limerick | 2.8 | 1.5% | 11% | – |
| 17 | Walkinstown Dublin | 2.8 | 0.3% | 0% | – |
| 18 | Dalkey Dublin | 2.6 | 3.5% | 0.2% | 60% |
| 19 | Kinsealy-Drinan Dublin | 2.3 | 1.8% | 1.1% | 8.3% |
| 20 | Howth Dublin | 2.2 | 2.4% | 18% | 75% |
| 21 | Dunboyne Meath | 2.2 | 2.5% | 0.4% | – |
| 22 | Hollyhill and Ballincolly Cork | 2.1 | 7.2% | 0.5% | – |
| 23 | Frankfield and Grange Cork | 2.1 | 4.3% | 2.1% | – |
| 24 | Kilcock Kildare | 1.7 | 2.8% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Ballyvolane Cork | 1.6 | 6.7% | 2.8% | – |
| 26 | Trim Meath | 1.3 | 0.9% | 1.5% | – |
| 27 | Monaghan Monaghan | 1.3 | 8.7% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Waterford City Centre Waterford | 1.3 | 1.5% | 6% | – |
| 29 | Caherdavin Limerick | 1.2 | 3.4% | 12% | – |
| 30 | Lusk Dublin | 1.1 | 0.6% | 1.3% | 6.4% |
| 31 | Youghal Cork | 0.9 | 0.6% | 13% | 29% |
| 32 | New Ross Wexford | 0.9 | 7.3% | 5.4% | – |
| 33 | Portarlington Laois | 0.8 | 2.5% | 1.6% | – |
| 34 | Grantstown and Ballinakill Waterford | 0.6 | 4.5% | 10% | – |
| 35 | Clane Kildare | 0.6 | 1.9% | 1.5% | – |
| 36 | Thurles Tipperary | 0.5 | 2.8% | 1.2% | – |
| 37 | Newcastle West Limerick | 0.5 | 1.5% | 7% | – |
| 38 | Bandon Cork | 0.4 | 5.6% | 0% | – |
| 39 | Edenderry Offaly | 0.4 | 7% | 1.7% | – |
| 40 | Buncrana Donegal | 0.3 | 3.3% | 12% | 23% |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Thurles’ urban area.
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 Thurles
The biggest is Thurles Town Park, 2.4 ha (6 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
9 in 10 Thurles residents live 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 (87%)Further (13%)
Thurles87%
Co. Tipperary towns83%
Typical Irish town92%
About 1,100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The protected site within 5 km of Thurles
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 Thurles0%
Within 5 km1.2%
Co. Tipperary towns3.4%
Typical Irish town1.8%
One protected site lies within 5 km of Thurles. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Lower River Suir SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 72 km² · reaches Thurles
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 82 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
82 km north-west21 km²
National Park
Wicklow Mountains National Park
93 km north-east223 km²
2 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Thurles.
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
12 km of footpaths cross Thurles
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
12 km
over 21.9 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
2.8%
about 0.6 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ThurlesCo. Tipperary townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.5
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ThurlesCo. Tipperary townsTypical Irish town
Woodland2.8%
0%50%100%
Thurles has less footpath per km² than 86% of Irish towns and more woodland than 52% 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 Thurles
12 km of footpaths are mapped in Thurles and the kilometre around it, 0.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Thurles; 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 Thurles: 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) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 97 | 73 | 71 | 63 | 63 | 72 | 70 | 81 | 74 | 102 | 98 | 102 |
May is the driest month (63 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 102 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Thurles →
Things to do
2 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
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds 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 Thurles
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
St Mary's Garden of RemembranceGarden · In Thurles
Its pageO'Driscoll Garden CentreGarden · In Thurles
Its pageCabragh Wetlands CentreNature site · 1.1 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Thurles
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
TemplemoreUrlingfordCashelThurles
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurles | 87% | 3.4 | 0.5 | 1.2% |
| Templemore 13 km | 100% | 4.4 | 0.3 | 0.5% |
| Urlingford 16 km | 100% | 2.2 | 0.1 | 1% |
| Cashel 19 km | 87% | 1.8 | 0.4 | 1.4% |
In Templemore, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here.
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 Thurles
What is the biggest park in Thurles?
Thurles Town Park, 2.4 ha (6 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Thurles?
Yes: 1.2% of the land within 5 km is protected, in one site. Lower River Suir SAC reaches Thurles.
How many people in Thurles live near a park?
87% 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 Thurles?
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 Thurles near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 82 km north-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². One more is within 100 km.
Sources
Where Thurles’ 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).