A new walk on a former pilgrim trail in Tipperary gives an insight into the past while being mindful of a sustainable future, writes JOHN G DWYER
A FEATURE OF modern life is a phenomenon known as the “death of distance”. In a little over a century, railways, cars and planes have shrunk our planet to a size where we can travel almost anywhere worldwide within about 48 hours.
As denizens of this global village we are apt to forget that, not so long ago, a night spent away from home was rare and the limit of most journeys was a half day’s walk from one’s fireside. But for those who did travel, the slow pace carried its own reward – a deep interaction with the landscape that is impossible nowadays as we hurtle past at 100kph.
Today, I won’t be hurtling anywhere but will instead be savouring the Tipperary countryside at a pace that was universal for ordinary folk until well into the second-last century.
I am among the first group to be invited to ramble the Pilgrim Loop – a new walkway that follows ancient paths above the airy village of Kilcommon – that was stoically footed by generations immemorial when distances were very real indeed and the next valley could seem another country.
First we are greeted by Fr Dan Woods, a local priest with 36 years service to the community and an abiding passion for history and folklore. With rich vivacity he explains that the first paved road was only completed to Kilcommon in 1831 and up until then all travel was by a dense network of Mass paths. These not only helped maintain “an unbroken chain of faith in the area” but also provided a lifeline for all other human interactions.
On setting out it’s immediately clear that this isn’t just any old walk but a captivating trail with abundant aces up its bucolic sleeve. First to capture our curiosity is a delightfully laid out prayer garden where a long-standing tradition of pilgrimage continues unabated, with thousands of the faithful still gathering here in reverence on special summer days.
Then it’s out onto the lower slopes of Mauherslieve (Mother Mountain) where the pagan goddess Eibhlin once held sway.
We ramble through fields and lanes rich with the smells and sounds of the countryside, where every effort has been made to ease our passing. Locally constructed bridges, which fit snugly into the landscape, keep our feet dry while a modern eco-grid has been laid to consolidate the earth beneath our boots.
This is all in the interests of conservation for much of the route passes through an SAC (Special Area of Conservation). Local woman Cliona Tuohy proudly tells us of the considerable efforts made by the local community to protect the fragile ecosystem, which sustains rare plants, mammals and birds, and to ensure that walkers leave nothing behind but footprints.
Higher up, a vista opens to the Golden Vale and the Galtee Mountains beyond and there is the option of following a spur to the mountain top, which is crowned by a great summit cairn. The sun is rapidly declining, however, and so we descend instead to a Mass rock that now overlooks twinkling lights in the valley below. Here Fr Woods is again on hand to paint a vivid picture. In the gathering twilight we imagine simple people, whose lives were regulated not by clocks but by the rhythms of the countryside, coming from the surrounding hills to kneel in prayer on the rough, wet grass while lookouts watched for the approach of hostile forces. To Fr Woods these were not simple people but “giants with broad shoulders” who valiantly resisted repression.
A silvery harvest moon is our guide as we ramble back to Kilcommon, passing pools of light spilling from windows of modest but neat farmhouses that have been energetically maintained in a pleasingly vernacular style. The evening ends with generous hospitality in Quinlan’s Pub and promises of a quick return and this time a full circuit, taking in the mystical summit of Mauherslieve.
Pilgrim Loop, Co Tipperary
How to get thereFrom Limerick take the N7 for Dublin and then R50 signposted Newport. Go through Newport and Rear Cross villages until the Cross Bar appears on left. Go left immediately onto a minor road to Kilcommon village. The trailhead is outside the community centre where there is ample parking.
TimeAllow two hours.
SuitabilityEasy route with a total ascent of just 170m. It is wet in places so wear boots.
MapOrdnance Survey, Discovery Sheet 59 covers most of the walk.
FoodFinnegan's Restaurant Annacotty (061-337338) serves large portions of wholesome food from 9am to 10pm. Kinane's Pub, Upperchurch (0504-54284) is renowned for quality but requires reservations.