Pilgrim Blessing – St James’s Church, Dublin – March 28th, 2020
Due to the Coronavirus, Fr. Eugene’s monthly pilgrim blessing was provided online via webcam at St. James Church, Dublin. These are very uncertain times and planning a pilgrimage may be the least of one’s priorities, however, it was nice to hear Fr. Eugene’s reassuring words – there is hope.
You can view Fr. Eugene’s blessing from St. James’s Church below:
If you would like to pause for a few moments of prayer, you can do so by viewing the webcam here: http://stjamesparish.ie/webcam
Information Centre, Dublin – Covid-19
Due to the events surrounding Covid-19, Camino Society Ireland have decided that we should close the Information Centre in Dublin until further notice, starting from March 19th.
Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you to all our volunteers.
Information Event – Landers, Tralee, Co. Kerry – March 3rd, 2020.
An big thank you to everyone who travelled to join us this evening in Kerry.
Members and Friends Monthly Walk – Waterford Greenway – 29th February, 2020
This month’s members and friends walk was along the Waterford Greenway from Kilmeaden. Beautiful blue skies gave way to blustery conditions as Storm Jorge made his presence known. A great day was had by all pilgrims, new and old and we thank you for walking with us. Our thanks too to Garvan Cummins for providing his local knowledge and history of the Greenway.
Information Event – Call of the Wild, Sligo – February 27th, 2020.
Our thanks to Call of the Wild in Sligo for their welcome at our information event in Sligo. A large crowd turned up to hear about the Camino De Santiago/ There is huge interest in the numerous pilgrim routes leading to Santiago de Compostela and this was a successful evening.
Information Event – Midleton, Co. Cork – February 22nd, 2020.
Another successful Information day in Midleton, Cork today. Thanks to Grainne Michael Padraig Deirdre Laraine and Betty.
Information Event – St. James Parish Hall, Dublin – February 14th, 2020.
Following on from successful information event in Thurles, the Society held its annual information event today in St. James Parish Hall in Dublin. A large attendance turned out from all over the Dublin region, looking to gain information about the Camino de Santiago. Some had walked before and were interested in learning about other routes, whilst others were planning on taking their very first steps towards Santiago de Compostela.
The day started with a short presentation on the history of the Camino, on how to plan your Camino, and on the significance of the Pilgrim Passport and Compostela. Information was also provided on the Celtic Camino, our Pilgrim paths and the Books of Pilgrims. There was also information provided on how to join the society once you complete your Camino.
Following the presentation, which was well received, a number of areas were manned by volunteers – veterans of each route. Future pilgrims had the opportunity to ask questions based on the route they were walking. Again, there was interest in the practical side of preparation. Oihana brought in her full pack with her and outlined why she finds each item so useful. This was particularly helpful to those in the planning stage to see the type of clothing is needed. You can find a good packing list video for men here and for women here.
Information Event – Bookworm Book Shop, Thurles – February 6th, 2020.
A wonderful turnout tonight in the Bookworm Book Shop Thurles for the Pilgrimage 2020 information event. Over 100 prospective pilgrims turned up this evening. A big thanks to John Butler and his great staff for hosting this event. The crowd were amazing. A huge thanks from John G O’Dwyer and Michael Walsh to all who made the effort to attend.
Members and Friends Monthly Walk – Lough Boora Discovery Park – 25th January 2020
Thank you to the large number of walkers who joined us today at Lough Boora Discovery Park, Co. Offaly. The weather was on our side and we were warmly welcomed by the Lough Boora staff. Today’s walk was approximately 12 km.
On Saturday, January the 25th, we made our way to County Offaly and Lough Boora Discovery Park (www.loughboora.com) for our members’ and friends monthly walk. There we were warmly welcomed with tea and fresh country scones, compliments of our hosts, Bord na Mona. Paul Riordan, a society member and veteran of the Camino de Santiago, welcomed us to the park. Paul introduced Tom and Sean who gave a little background to the park and the co-operative efforts of Bord na Mona and the local community in developing the bog as a sculpture park and wildlife sanctuary along with numerous walking and cycling trails.
We began with Sean guiding our 90 walkers through the Park’s wonderful Sculpture Park. Sean was on hand to talk about the various parts of the Park’s history during numerous stages of the walk. We were very lucky with the weather with no rain falling. The walk itself was nice and easy at about 12 kms with the whole event taking us around 3 hours to complete.
The Gatherine of Stones
One of the highlights of the day was arriving at a monument “The Gathering of Stones”, built in 2013. Before construction began on the monument, the public were invited to “bring a stone home” to Lough Boora. Many people brought a stone with them to the Gathering of Stones to be built into the monument. Each stone came with a story and a history. Stones came from all parts of Ireland, the US, and the UK.
Part of the attraction of these walks is meeting new and old friends. A large number of people who attended had walked a Camino previously but it was nice to see people who have yet to take their first steps. And there were many veteran pilgrims on hand to answer questions during the day. Thank you to those who travelled from Dublin, Wicklow, Galway, Donegal and from other parts of Ireland to be with us. We are glad to have shared the experience with you and we hope to see you at our next walk.
A special thanks to Paul, Tom, Sean and all the staff at Lough Boora who made the day what it was!
Camino Society Ireland Monthly Hill Walk – Binnianea Loop, Cullahill, Co Laois – 28th December 2019
Thank you to all who walked with us in Culahill, Co. Laois. The Binnianea Loop or the Cullahill Loop is a few kilometres from the town of Culahill. The morning started with a brief ascent up a rustic staircase, through a pine forest. It wasn’t long before we were rewarded with tremendous views of the Slieve Bloom mountains and of course Culahill Castle. This was the seat of the MacGiollapadriag clan until the 17th century. We were joined by our team of local guides, Susan and Brid who shared interesting nuggets of history while we walked. (Article in Irish Times about the Binnianea Loop)
We look forward to our next walk at the end of January.
Shamrocks & Shells 