A 70 hectare (173 acre) park has opened on the site of a former landfill facility in Cork city.
The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Mick Finn, said Tramore Valley Park park would be the largest park in the city and he urged locals to make use of the area's recreational facilities.
He paid tribute to Cork City Council for its work in redeveloping the site, which includes a 2.5km looped walkway named after Olympian and Cork native Rob Heffernan.
"Irish people across the world have derived great pleasure and pride from Rob Heffernan's success over the years," said Cllr Finn. "His achievements meant all the more to Cork people, as we often saw our hero out training on city walks and roads."
Heffernan said he was humbled to have the walkway named after him.
“This is a massive honour for me to know that long after I am gone a legacy of health and fitness at all levels will live on,” he said.
The Kinsale Road landfill operated from 1963 to 2009 and it is estimated some 2.78 million tonnes of waste, including municipal solid waste, commercial waste and non-hazardous industrial waste, were deposited at the site.
The council has spent some €40 million on decontamination and remediation work and the former main depository area has been shaped into a raised dome, which is the highest point in the park.
Valerie O’Sullivan, the council’s director of environment and recreation, said the park features “walkways and trails, an all-weather events/amenity area, a grass pitch, an international standard BMX Track, an outdoor gym, a sports pavilion, a wetlands area, and a raised dome area - giving fantastic 360 degree panoramic views of the city, east and west”.
