With Friends Like These, Who Needs WCC…?

The Friends gang WEDS17DEC25

ver the past few years, it’s amazing how far back Greystones Municipal District Office has sunk into the shadows, leaving most of the public work to volunteers.

From Greystones Tidy Towns keeping our town looking fresh-out-of-the-box to the Greystones Town Team organising every big holiday hooley, from Paddy’s Day and Christmas to Picnic In The Park and beyond, a huge amount has been delegated to those willing to work for nothing but the good of the town.

So, it’s disappointing when these volunteer groups have to bang heads with the Greystones Municipal District Council, as happened this afternoon, with the Friends Of The Cliff Walk once again trying to get some clarity as to when our beloved Bray Head trek might actually reopen.

After almost five painful, soul-crushing and town-crushing years.

It’s beginning to feel like the Post Office scandal across the water, the authorities once again ducking and diving any direct culpability or responsibility. Or admission that, just perhaps, they could have handled this situation a little better. Four and a half-years ago.

So, it was no doubt a welcome surprise for Peter Murtagh, Donal Flynn, Adam Hill, Barry McCleary and Dermod Dwyer when we sprung this year’s Greystones Persons Of The Year award upon them shortly after yet another fruitless-verging-on-pointless meeting with the powers that be forever Trumping the question.

The Cliff Walk 30NOV24

Here’s a gang of volunteers – AWOL today are Georgia Gallagher, Peter Evans and Hugh Gallagher – who spent every Saturday for months and months hacking back over four years of growth along The Cliff Walk. They also unearthed an alternative route halfway across, one that swings by the old Cliff House Hotel to the Bray Head cross, and back down into the town.

Thus avoiding the Gate Of Mordor on the Bray side.

The Friends Of The Cliff Walk have also been campaigning constantly over the years for the reopening of our great escape – and tourist magnet – with presentations, public meetings, financial impact reports and generally being a thorn in the backsides of those seemingly too lazy to, well, get up off their backsides.

Just last month, following Simon Harris’ commitment to have the walk reopened in the short term as the more permanent fixes are signed, sealed and delivered, our Friends were quick to point out that The Cliff Walk could be back in action “in a matter of hours“.

So, this Christmas, raise a glass to these plain-talking, no-nonsense, crap-cutting men and women who have done more than any politician or official around here in putting The Cliff Walk back on the table.

And, Elvis willing in 2026, back on the map…

In the meantime, abig thank you, as always, to Danny O’Connor and the EBS gang for sponsoring once again.

And if you need to brighten up your day a little, you can always jump back through our previous Greystones Person Of The Year luminaries right here.

You can also check out the mildly and wryly edited RPS report here, find out more about recent Cliff Walk shenanigans here, explore its history here, and marvel at the greatness of Friends of The Cliff Walk over here.