Shronaboy Farm - new uplift in Kerry

emeraldmtb

Some hard work going on currently in Kerry building new trails. Currently, they are running pre-arranged uplift days only while work is ongoing on their downhill track. But they have bigger plans. Shronaboy will be hosting rounds of the IDMS and the Grassroots Enduro series in September.

I got to have a go at the uplift day yesterday - in glorious sunshine to boot.

Photos, videos and write-up here

iwillhtfu

That's a savage location.

Do they have permission this time around? I heard there was uproar over the trails they had built last year and they were told to move on by land owners.

covey123

Is this going to become a regular thing?

Peter T

Sweet, hard to think that its taken this long for something more official to come to kerry.

Tenzor07

Would be great to see this developed further, sure there was even talk of hosting a UCI worldcup DH event in Kerry at one stage?

Kerry's rugged scenic landscape is perfect for MTB'ing..

emeraldmtb

iwillhtfu wrote: »

That's a savage location.

Do they have permission this time around? I heard there was uproar over the trails they had built last year and they were told to move on by land owners.

You're thinking of Tralee Bay I'm guessing. This is a different location near Killarney and is built on private land with the help of the landowner.

emeraldmtb

covey123 wrote: »

Is this going to become a regular thing?

They're going to hold fairly regular upllift days for the time being. The track is still being worked on. But they have much bigger plans, it just all takes time.

Top Dog

Having read the article with interest, I'm guessing that its a decent-travel full-sus thing at the moment?

Hurrache

I knew the name sounded familiar. Is it this place that was discussed on this forum 8 years ago?
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73617864

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/mountain-bike-boost-with-450k-sports-grant-27409878.html

The funding for the track at Shroneboy, Loughguittane, means that Kerry will be home to the second highest downhill course in Europe but for mountain bike enthusiasts, the higher spec Killarney facility should be a much more attractive option than the taller Fortwilliam course. The Killarney area will also reap the reward of hundreds of thousands of euros in visitor spending.

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Would be great to see this developed further, sure there was even talk of hosting a UCI worldcup DH event in Kerry at one stage?

Kerry's rugged scenic landscape is perfect for MTB'ing..

May be this

The technical difficulty of the downhill course – 1,800 metres in length and a vertical drop of 360 metres – will mean that downhill riders will have to be experienced and require specialised equipment. It will be ideal as a venue for the European Masters Downhill and Cross Country Championships which have already been granted for 2014 and 2015 respectively.
......
Kerry had been mooted for the 2011 championships but progress on the Shroneboy plan did not progress as quickly as had hoped. Indeed, the idea for a local course originated over three and a half years ago and following an extensive search — including Ordnance Survey and Google Earth maps — for a suitable site by project backers, landowner Con O'Donoghue was approached and came on board.

emeraldmtb

Peter T wrote: »

Sweet, hard to think that its taken this long for something more official to come to kerry.

Ridiculous really when you think of it. Especially when you consider how much effort nad money has been going into promoting it as an 'Adventure Capital' - but narrowly focused on walking and running.

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Would be great to see this developed further, sure there was even talk of hosting a UCI worldcup DH event in Kerry at one stage?

Kerry's rugged scenic landscape is perfect for MTB'ing..

It's great country for mountain biking. There will be an IDMS round and one of the Grassroots Enduro rounds at the end of the summer.

emeraldmtb

Top Dog wrote: »

Having read the article with interest, I'm guessing that its a decent-travel full-sus thing at the moment?

I would have said yes, except I followed a lad down who was riding a Stanton steel hardtail and he was having 0 issues But no, its not a cross country trail.

Hurrache wrote: »

I knew the name sounded familiar. Is is this place that was discussed on this forum 8 years ago?
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73617864
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/mountain-bike-boost-with-450k-sports-grant-27409878.html

Not the same place no. The one in the article is one of those places that is always rumoured but never seems to go anywhere. Shronaboy is closer to Killarney.

Hurrache

emeraldmtb wrote: »

Not the same place no. The one in the article is one of those places that is always rumoured but never seems to go anywhere. Shronaboy is closer to Killarney.

Ok, so Shroneboy and Shronaboy are 2 different places, not just one of those townlands that can be spelled differently.

Peter T

emeraldmtb wrote: »

Ridiculous really when you think of it. Especially when you consider how much effort nad money has been going into promoting it as an 'Adventure Capital' - but narrowly focused on walking and running.

Yep, active clubs, plenty of racing in the past and no official trails to show of it. Unfortunately it's not an activity that appeals to the typical retirement age tourist that doesn't want to walk further than 50 meters off a bus so funding goes elsewhere

iwillhtfu

emeraldmtb wrote: »

You're thinking of Tralee Bay I'm guessing. This is a different location near Killarney and is built on private land with the help of the landowner.

That's the one. It looked like a great track they had with loads of jumps and step downs but it was pulled from the IDMS calendar iirc. It would be great to see more official trails in and around killarney it would really be the icing on the cake.

ballyharpat

Denis O'Shea from the Big Little Bike Shop in woodlawn, Killarney, is the driver behind all of this, he has lots of work put in. Passionate about it. Denis was a road rider for years, 11 Ras Tailteanns under his belt, 2nd on one stage I believe and lots of top 10's. Raced in Europe for a while as well.

Icyseanfitz

Hurrache wrote: »

I knew the name sounded familiar. Is it this place that was discussed on this forum 8 years ago?
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73617864

jesus i made that thread 8 years ago :pac::D still no better on the bike haha

Yeah Denis and a few others are really pushing shronaboy, really sound bunch of lads, hopefully it all goes well for them