Castlebar walks are back in step again
By Tom Gillespie
WILL you look at the knobbly knees in the photograph on these brave walkers who were snapped 55 years ago at the start of the first ever walk of the Castlebar Walking Festival in July 1967.
From left, they are businessman Sean Horkan, hotelier Paddy Jennings, county engineer and festival director Joseph Egan, Connaught Telegraph proprietor and journalist Bernie Gillespie, editor John McHale and businessman Michael McDermott, all members of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce, whose brainchild it was to establish the walks.
Sadly, the walks had to be abandoned for the past two years because of Covid. But this year they are back with a bang, with the Castlebar Four Days Walking Festival getting underway this Thursday.
Following the success of the launch of the Castlebar International Song Contest by the chamber in 1966, local businessmen sought other means of attracting visitors to the town. It was the late Michael Joe Egan, solicitor, of Mountain View, who put forward the idea of the song contest and walking festival.
In recalling the events, Mr. Egan wrote in 1996: The history of the walking festival was that Tommy Brennan, a member of Westport Post Office staff, established a small travel agency in Westport and got literature from all over the world. Included in the literature was information abut a walking festival held annually in Nijmegen in Holland.
He considered Westport an ideal place for such a festival because of the surrounding countryside, which was eminently suitable for walking.
He tried to enlist backing for a project but the Westport people turned it down, and, in a fit of pique, Tommy Brennan approached me, as president of the chamber, to see if Castlebar would be interested in promoting such an event.
The matter was considered by the chamber and because of the amount of work involved in organising such a festival, the services of the county engineer, Joe Egan, were enlisted. Joe Egan had access to a large staff of engineers, and road gangers, and they undertook the organisation of the festival.
It was quite a success in the first years but when the troubles broke out in Northern Ireland and with the worldwide publicity engendered by such troubles, people abroad thought there was a war on here and that it would be dangerous to come to Ireland for such an event.
As a result it did not develop, really, until the foreigners were informed about the limited area covered by the troubles.
The festival has gone from strength to strength in recent years and in 1995, 1,200 people, mostly non-nationals, came to Castlebar to participate and it gave a great boost to tourism in the town.
At the present time (1996) there is a dedicated group keeping the festival alive and the names of Elaine Deveraux and Ernie Sweeney spring to mind.
Today, 26 years on, Elaine and Ernie are still deeply involved in the festival.
In the early years the Welcome Inn Hotel was the headquarters for the festival and later the Traveller’s Friend Hotel. The unofficial HQ was, of course, Johnny McHale’s pub. Now renamed the Ivy Tower, the HQ is back to the Welcome Inn.
During the Covid cancellations, a small number of walkers, including myself, undertook token socially separated walks.
Over the past 55 years, excluding 2020 and '21, participants could meet walkers from more than 21 countries to walk, talk and discover the bogs, rivers, mountains, flora and fauna and the unspoilt beauty of the west of Ireland.
Each day, there is a 10-kilometre, 20-kilometre and 40-kilometre road walk and also a guided cross-country ramble, which is approximately 30 kilometres in length and takes about five hours to complete.
All the road walks are through the countryside around Castlebar, while some of the rambles take walkers further afield, this year including the Mulranny area for the first time. There is a range of routes to suit all levels of fitness.
The ramble is a unique feature and holds a special place in the hearts of international walkers.
In the early days, when the ramble was first introduced, with only 12 walkers, it was clear this was going to become a feature in the future. In the very beginning it was the 40km road walk that attracted the overseas visitors and the ramble was the preserve of a small group of dedicated local walkers.
The organisers emphasise those aged 16 years and under must be accompanied by an adult on walks.
The rambles include some moderate climbing (under 400m) so walkers must ensure they are fit and have suitable equipment - waterproofs, walking boots, spare socks and walking poles, and carry adequate snacks and drinks.
The walks are non-competitive and route maps are available. Different coloured arrows are painted along the routes to guide walkers.
Although these routes are on Castlebar's country roads and boreens, walkers have to be ever mindful of road safety. High visibility vests are provided for each walker.