Seefin Mountain Ballyhoura

On Sunday 1st. October the club outing was to the Ballyhoura mountains. We set off at 8.30 and headed to the start near Ardpatrick in Co. Limerick. Here there is a secure monitored car park. Toilets showers changing room tea and coffee are also available. This is also a major mountain biking area the largest in Ireland with 98 klms of trails.
After a quick coffee we took the purple trail which would lead us to Seefin mountain summit at 528 meters. This walk is varied and has some farm tracks, wood land and open mountain. The weather wasn't great and there was some mist and fog. Rain gear was put on and taken off a few times. Towards the top on open mountain is was very windy. We took shelter at the foot of the trig point and had refreshments. Is is said that on a clear day you can see the six counties of Munster from here, but for us it was not to be as a fog brought visibility down to about a hundred meters. While we were sheltering in the lee of the rock a hardy soul sped by in shorts and singlet.
Refreshed we made our way down hill. After some time we entered forestry and here we had another pit stop. We had a group photo taken here. On again we went until we finally arrived back to the starting point. Here we availed of the changing room to change out of our sodden boots and gear.
This was a very enjoyable walk and would be even better without the fog.

After we made our way to the Gallery in Mallow for the customary refreshments and chat which is an
important part of the day out. There were some ambitious suggestions for next year discussed.

Mount Brandon - Our Good Year Continues

On Sunday 17 September we headed west towards Dingle to Mount Brandon. We stopped in Dingle for coffee and on then to Baile Breac. This is on the Cosan na Naomh { Saints Path } routh which starts at Ventry beach and ends at the summit of Mount Brandon.We parked here and began our climb. The weather was excellent and conditions underfoot were good. Mount Brandon is the ninth highest mountain in Ireland and the second highest outside of the Mcgillycuddy Reeks.At 952 meters it is only 86 meters shy of Carrauntoohill.
The route is well marked with the fourteen Stations of the Cross at intervals all the way up. The start of the climb is gentle enough but as you gain altitude it gets steeper.The views are breathtaking looking out over the patch work of fields and towards the Blaskets and Schellig Michael, Smerwick Harbour and the Three Sisters. There were many stops to admire the scenery.
Looking ahead the cloud was covering part of the mountain and we were hoping that it would be clear by the time we reached the top.
Towards the summit there was a fairly fresh breeze. When we finally reached the 952 meter mark, we had some refreshments and took some photographs.

There are the remains of a small oratory, it was here that Saint Brendan {484-577} was reputed to have stayed before he set out on his voyage to discover North America 1000 years before Coloumbus. It is doubtful if he could land in America now or if he did he would be deported.

There are some sheer drops close to the summit, and it could be dangerous in foggy weather.
In 1940 a Luftwaffe plane crash landed on Brandon. Local Gardai met the Germans coming down the Saints Path and they were arrested and interned in the Curragh Camp. One of the German crew men
Kurt Kyol met and married an Irish woman from Kildare. They lived in Ireland and he died in 2010.
Three more planes came down on Brandon in 1943 with a loss of 14 lives. Two RAF planes and one BOAC aircraft.  Flying Officer David Hartigan RAF was from Bruff Co. Limerick he died approx 70 miles from his home. Two more airmen are buried at Killiney graveyard near Castlegregory.
It got quite cold sitting around eating so we set off down. The descent was easy enough as the ground was good and dry.
Finally back at the car park we freshened up and made our way back to Dingle,with the intention of calling to the Marino Bar for food and to watch the match. However it was not to be. The place was full and we had to move on to the Schellig Hotel. Here over chowder and steak burgers we reminisced about the day as we watched Mayo falther again on their quest for the Holy Grail. All in all we had a much better day out than the poor Mayo supporters.

Sheeps Head Walk

On Sunday 3 Sept the club walk was on the Sheeps Head in beautiful West Cork. Leaving Kanturk at 8.15 approx we set off on the long journey down. We stopped in Bantry at the Bake house for tea / coffee. Onwards then through Kilcrohane and then we reached the end of the road at Bernies Cupan Te cafe and parked up. We headed first for the lighthouse perched on a cliff above the waves. Then putting the sea to our left we continued along the Poets Way loop.

This is named after a local poet Denis M Cronin  1866 / 1929 who died in Yonkers New York. A plaque inscribed with one of his verse is located along the way. Following the torrential rain on Saturday the ground conditions were wet to put it mildly, and boots were tested as to their ability to keep out the damp. Needless to say with conditions so slippery there were one or two falls but thankfully no injuries.

Even though the coastal fog never lifted we still got some great sea views.
We stopped for a break and some food about halfway and sat on the cliff admiring the view.
Along the way was a plaque erected in memory of three local girls who drowned in 1900, which served as a reminder that care and common sense is always required whether walking by the sea or on the mountains.

There was a fairly sharp climb towards the finish and with the slippery and boggy ground it was tiring, people were glad when we finally crested the hill and could see the car park.
We changed out of our sodden boots, and headed to Arundels on the Pier in Akhaiste where a table had been pre booked. Here there was no fog and the sun was sparkling on Mediterranean like waters.
We dined al fresco on the fruits of the sea. A fitting end to a great day out.

A memorable Trip To The Cliffs Of Moher

 On Sun, Aug. 6th we set off on another new trip,with a good group of 13,.this time to the the Cliffs Of  Moher Walking Trail which is approx. 20 km long. Our first destination was Doolin which was nearly 90 miles away through Ennis & Ennistymon where we parked our cars and boarded the Park & Ride Bus to the start of the trail near Liscannor

 We have climbed higher, longer & tougher but this really was a day to remember as only by visiting this place will you really appreciate the sheer beauty & all the unbelievable views that make up this trip where you really are walking close to the edge. This trail is as dangerous as you want to make it,

there is in most place's an inner path which is safer or another which is close to the edge. It really is in your own hands & up to how brave you are but you really could get in trouble if you started to mess around. You can fairly easily get fantastic views by taking a bit of care & get the real height of the Cliffs & the unbelievable power of nature.

 The most stand out thing was the amount of people were at the Visitor Centre with tourists from all over taking in this iconic place which is a main stay of the Wild AtlanticWay which advertises our country and the beauty of it.Thousands of people, the place was thronged.
 After the Visitor Centre  & our lunch break we set off on the second leg to Doolin and with more fantastic views as we traveled with the Aran Islands in the distance. We finally got to Doolin & our cars and the one thing you would notice was the amount of time this trip took, it must have taken about 5 hours as everyone

was stopping to take photos & peep over the edges along the way and we are from Ireland, you must wonder what the tourists feel & experience. An unbelievable spot & I have been here before.

 To prove the popularity of this area was we could not find a place to get a bite or a cuppa so we ended up in Lisdoovarna to finish off our day and discuss the day.
This part of the day is also important to us as we believe in a bot of a sociable side as well.Again we did what said we would do at the start of the year a good bit of variety in our walks,some up high, some down low, some easy, some hard but always to try something new with a bit of a social side thrown in.

Night Trip Up Mushera - Sunrise For The Solstice

 On a year of firsts we did another new one and that was a Night Climb Up Mushera to see the Sunrise for the Summer Solstice.
 We were hoping for a good sunrise like they got on Carrauntoohill a few years ago

A group of 7 did the night climb leaving Kanturk at 3.30am and arriving at the gates of Millstreet Country Park at about 4am . The weather that night was good enough but you still had to take things slowly but for even the time of the year even the bottom of Mushera was still very dry. The only thing we were progressing fairly quickly and had to take a break below the top as we did not want to be on top too early in the wind. We arrived at the top for about 5am but to our disappointment no sun came out for the sunrise. It really only just got brighter but off we went back to our daily work lives with a tale to tell.

 But still for most of us it was something new and different and one off the bucket list and will probably be added to the Annual Walk List.

The Cheque Presentations

For the third time in recent years we organised a Charity Climb & again we had a very successful day out and raised money for worthy causes and in one case local in the process.

 This time the Charities were The Irish Cancer Society & Kanturk Hospital and recently we held the Cheque Presentations in the Temperence Hall in Kanturk where a good few of our own members turned up to present the Cheques to Peg Fitzgerald who is The Matron of Kanturk Hospital and Nicola McMahon representing The Irish Cancer Society.

 A total of €4800 with each getting cheques for €2400 which made it a very worthwhile day out. The most impressive statistic was the we have now raised over €14,000 on the last 3 climbs which is credit to all involved.

 For us the climbers we get a great day out meeting loads of different people for the Charity Climb who we may not meet on the Mountains, some may go faster than us and some may only come once a year.
 On behalf of the organisers I must thank the Group Leaders who take responsibility of between 15 people which is a big task especially if the weather turns, we must thank our Sponsors who donated Signs for around the Town and lots of food was donated to feed the gang after. Also a big special thanks to Eilis & all in The Alley Bar for all their help in lookig after the Climbers after the event. A big thank you to our own members Nuala McCarthy, Geraldine Murphy and Margret O'Keeffe who were acting caterers and done an absolute fantastic job.

  A big thanks also goes out to The Corkman Newspaper who gave us great publicity along the way
 So till next time whenever that may be.

The Day We Went To The Beach !!!!

 At the start of this year it was decided by our members to slightly change the policy of our club and the way it was going. It was decided to vary the walks from some high to some low, some hard to some easy plus new routes with a variance and on top of that to make add more of a sociable aspect to it as well. Today we acheived all of that , it was a new route, a different type of walk in that we did a coastal walk along the beach and sand dunes for 3 hours on a new location . Sometimes it is not always about climbing a big mountain under strain. THe day was also finished with a sociable cuppa & chat in a local cafe

This day lived up to all those ideals as we to the beach and the destination was the Magharees with a group of 9 near Castlegregory just beyond Tralee. It was a day out with a difference as we probably only climbed one big sand dune and got a lot of sand in places that we did not know existed as it was all over us.But do not underestimate this day as it was a great day out.
 We started our walk in Spillanes Bar Car Park and headed on for the tip of the headland on the peninsula facing back in towards Tralee as well as Fenit Harbour on the other side. We skirted the headlands for a while before we reached our frst beach of the day & strolled along for a good while, which was on the eastern side of the Magharees before we hit land again crossing the road and onto our first Sand Dunes of the day to lots of giggles from some as it probably reminded them of days gone by from their youth.

As we continued our journey through the dunes we eventually got to the western side of this out land and back to the beach we went again with a slight stopover for a snack  in the dunes. Our youthfull past was definitely being explored today before finding ourselves back at the car park at Spillanes Pub again after another hike in the breeze with sand in our faces. The only problem was Spillanes was shut.

But due to having local knowledge in our midst we found another port for a coffee. As is tradition now in our group we have a pit stop to reminisce the day we had and here we found everything from green soup to lovely big slices of brownies to girls with tattoo's on her legs to amuse us & our journey home & to end off another great day out with our group after our day at the beach. Just another day out to prove what a great country we live in.