A South Galway couple have generously donated part of their property to provide a new footpath that will make their village safer for all.

Landowners Nicholas and Caroline Quinn from Labane allowed Galway County Council to push a wall back into their lands to provide the footpath.

Their ‘unprecedent’ generosity was welcomed by Cllr Geraldine Donohue, who said that the existing footpath was sub-standard – but its replacement is ‘a marvellous asset to the village’.

Once Nicholas and Caroline volunteered the land, a Community Involvement Scheme (CIS) was established to work on providing the new footpath.

“This is a great example of people providing a piece of property to make it safer for pedestrians and this has been the result,” said Cllr Donohue.

“It provides an ease of access to the village and the local nursing home, and this is what people wanted in the area – so all credit is due to them for donating the strip of land.

“It involved the wall being set back for several hundred metres to allow the new footpath to be provided and the couple were happy to allow this happen.

“They didn’t benefit financially from the project but obviously knew that there was a need for the footpath to be widened for pedestrian safety,” she added.

She paid tribute to Liam Flynn, Senior Executive Engineer in the Gort office, for facilitating the project.

“It’s just one of these good news stories thanks to a generous couple,” Cllr Donohue added.

Pictured: Cllr Geraldine Donohue (right) with Nicholas and Caroline Quinn, who under the Community Involvement Scheme dedicated the required land for the putting in place a footpath at Labane Village which has made a huge difference for the safety of pedestrians.