In Ireland Travel | CONNECTED

An Mheitheal Rothar – Galway’s Community Bike Workshop

Community Stories, Galway, In Ireland Travel, Recycling, Social Entrepreneurship

An Meitheal Rothar is a not for profit Co-operative and Sustainable Business run by a team that creates positive change. It was born from the idea that people could come together in a group or a cooperative, to help each other as part of a community. An Meitheal Rothar fixes bikes, sells bikes, and teaches people how to repair bikes. It gives bikes for people in need, it asks for more walking and cycling in Galway City, helps us re-use and recycling things more – what is called the ‘circular economy’. It also fights climate change, and thinks up new ideas about how we run our economy.

Jenni has reduced her flights footprint to using ferries and trains

Galway, In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

I travel from Inis Mór, an island on the west coast of Ireland to Finland by ferries and trains. I live permanently in Inis Mór but I am originally from Finland. So I visit friends and family in Finland once a year. I plan to travel this way every time in both directions.

Mulranny Community Futures & Promenade (Case Study)

Case Studies, Committee Tools, Engagement and Communication, Environmental and Sustainability Initiatives, In Ireland Travel, Mayo

A Scottish-style, household-led consultation gave Mulranny a clear, shared brief: footpaths, safer crossings, and a seafront civic space. With a Village Design Statement (2012) to turn that mandate into drawings, the community and council delivered continuous footpaths, traffic calming, and the Mulranny Promenade—even during austerity—shifting the N59 corridor from car-dominated to people-first and setting the stage for later climate actions.

We didn’t really need that second car

In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

The benefits are both immediate, sustainable and you send a clear signal of sustainability, environmental consideration and an active lifestyle to your kids. They will then, hopefully, be more likely and more comfortable making these types of decisions into the future – which they will very likely be forced to do anyway in the coming years to mitigate climate change.

Aoife, Cork, decided that if she wanted to spend money in town she would cycle and not drive

In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

Last year I got a bike from the cycle-to-work scheme. I decided that if I wanted to spend money in town I would cycle in and not drive.

Joe oB: Bikes to work on the scheme that could work for nearly everyone

In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

We were always a two car family. When my own car was up for renewal I looked into the bike to work scheme. I found out that the electric assist bike would work well for me: it’s quite an uphill journey in parts and so I didn’t feel that the standard bike was for me. I also saw that the bike to work scheme meant that I got the bike more or less for half price. It makes total economic sense when you factor in cost of even a second hand car, the petrol, tax and insurance. The sustainability benefits are very obvious.

Brian – uses the train for distance commutes

In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

Even though I live in Mayo and work in Dublin I have switched to cycling and commutes using the train instead of a car.
Sustainability, reducing CO2 emissions, and from a practicality perspective, it’s actually safer.

EV: It has been a very easy journey for me.

In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

I live on an island in a beautiful part of Ireland, and with such small distances to cover, not to mention the carbon footprint from importation of fuel for ICT’s, it seemed the logical choice to drive an EV.
I browsed the internet to find an affordable used EV and bought a used Nissan Leaf from a dealer. It was a Japanese import and is in immaculate condition.

Maeve from Dublin stopped getting lifts and started taking the bus

In Ireland Travel, Personal Stories

I stopped taking lifts and started taking the bus. It didn’t make sense to me why I would travel by car when the damage it does to the environment is so evident. It’s wasteful, considering the damage petrol and pollution does. It’s also healthier and more convenient for me – I don’t have to wait on anyone to be available.