Since December 2024 you can walk or cycle 23 km from Midleton to Youghal without meeting a car, and Mogeely sits at the midpoint. The greenway is the reason most visitors now turn off the busy N25 into this quiet corner of east County Cork; the rest of the time it goes about its business as a working dairy parish in the limestone vale of Imokilly, a village of around 400 people (389 at the 2016 census).
Walking and cycling the greenway
The Midleton to Youghal Greenway follows the line of the old Cork–Youghal railway and runs directly from Midleton station. It opened in two stages: the 8 km from Midleton to Mogeely in March 2024, then the 15 km on through Killeagh to Youghal that December. The path is flat, paved and lined with young trees – easy for families and level enough to be genuinely accessible. Mogeely makes a natural base: park here and ride east to Youghal’s seafront, or west back to Midleton.
The castle, and what is actually there
Mogeely had a castle, built around 1460–1464 by the Earls of Desmond and held from the 1580s by the Pine family. What survives on the ground is a different question, and worth being straight about, because the sources disagree. Some describe stretches of old wall absorbed into a working farmyard; Wikipedia states flatly that the castle no longer exists. Either way, this is not a place to come for a grand ruin – there is no signage, no visitor access, and whatever stonework remains is private and built about with sheds. The greenway is the draw; the castle is a footnote.
A working dairy village
Mogeely’s real life is agricultural. The Dairygold Co-Operative Society runs two cheese-processing plants here, one expanded into a ‘cheese centre of excellence’ in the 2010s; there are no public tours, but their presence tells you what the village is about. The Dairygold store on the edge of the village opens Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, and closes on Sundays and bank holidays. Each September the Mogeely Vintage Tractor Club holds its Vintage Tillage Day, working old machinery the way it used to be done, with the proceeds going to community projects. To the south, the River Bride floodplain gives quiet walking and reasonable birdwatching in spring.
Practical information
Getting there – Mogeely is easiest by car on the N25 between Cork City and Waterford; take the village turn just north of Castlemartyr. By train, alight at Midleton station, about 12 km away – better still, cycle in from the station along the greenway.
Parking and access – there is free parking at lay-bys and at the greenway trailhead in the village. The greenway is flat and accessible; the castle stonework is not, being private farmland.
Facilities – there are no toilets, cafés or shops on the greenway itself or at the castle. The nearest are in Castlemartyr (2 km) or Midleton (12 km), so carry water if you are riding the full route.
Best time to visit – late spring and early summer for the countryside, autumn for the colour along the old railway line.
For the full ride, allow a couple of hours to Youghal and back, and bring your own water: there are cafés and toilets at the Midleton and Youghal ends, but nothing in between.