Climbers hit the high notes

The hills were alive with the sound of people tramping up Donegal's highest peak yesterday ... and the music was real, and heavy.

Donegal, let's face it, is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Of the north, but not in the North, it's far enough away from Dublin to have its own rhythms, its own pace of life, its own way of doing things.

So when Margaret Wilkie suggested a sponsored climb of the county's highest mountain, Errigal, no one batted an eyelid locally when she added: "And bring your musical instruments too."

Margaret has been fundraising for local charities for over 30 years but it was Letterkenny music store owner Gerry Meehan who suggested she combine a sponsored climb with a musical get-together.

Thus was born what you might call Margaret and Her Music of the Mountains, an ascent of the 751-metre Errigal in aid of the Irish Wheelchair Association, and possibly the first session ever held of top of an Irish mountain.

Over 80 walkers, young and old, gathered at the foot of the climb yesterday morning. This isn't one of your high-powered, glitzy charity events; there are no celebs, no four-wheel jeeps, only a collection of laid-back, enthusiastic ramblers. Maybe all charity events were like this once.

Most haven't climbed the peak before. "I've always put off coming up here until now. But what better way to climb than for the wheelchair association," says local stonemason Michael McDevitt, who has carved a stone tablet to mark the event.

The standard route up Errigal is a steep though relatively short haul up from the roadside near Dunlewy. The first part is boggy and badly eroded but the route further up is marked by a distinct rocky track.

In winter, this sparsely populated region can be desolate, but on a pleasant summer afternoon it's busier than Grafton Street as dozen of walkers engage in their Sunday pilgrimage.

The steep slopes quickly separate the fit from the first-timers, the well-shod from those sloshing around in slippy runners. Yet the weather remains fair and the top is tantalisingly close.

Conn O'Brien and his colleagues from Finner Army camp in Bundoran are on hand to take care of safety and first aid. He stepped in after professional mountain guides demand a fee of €500 to marshal the charity event. "It's worth doing it just to see the reaction of people when they get up. That top of the world feeling - it's fantastic," says Conn.

The Army lads have all done stints in mosquito-infested East Timor but nothing seems to compare today to the ravage of the Donegal midges. Memo: bring insect repellent next time.

And eventually we do wend our way to the top. A marvellous tableau unfolds, from Slieve Snacht and the Derryveagh Mountains across the Poisoned Glen to the south, and Tory Island lying low in the Atlantic to the north. The visibility is enormous, the slopes below us precipitous.

Below us, the dark waters of Lough Altan remind us of the area's rich musical heritage. In the distance is Kincasslagh, where you can almost see Daniel O'Donnell's hotel.

By now, John Byrne and Eunan McIntyre are playing fiddle and guitar. People are dancing joyful if precarious jigs.

Marcus McIntyre, north Donegal's resident Elvis, makes an appearance in regulation clobber. But the mountain air can be cold on those exposed chest hairs so he retires after one number.

Michael McDevitt puts his tablet in place at the summit cairn while the session continues. Then, sandwiches eaten, it's time to descend. Flushed with the success of the event, Margaret Wilkie says she hopes to repeat the event next year and to extend it to other mountains. So watch out next year for concerts on Carauntoohill, and sessions on Slieve Donard. Who knows, maybe we'll even have lapdancing on Lugnaquilla.