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(Dursey Island, Cork where the walk begins. Image: Shutterstock)
A 500 KILOMETRE walkway through 10 counties and four provinces is ready for hiking.
The Beara-Breifne Way, Ireland’s longest walking trail, links counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan.
In local areas, the Way is divided into a series of smaller routes to make the walking trail more accessible and achievable.
It was the largest community based project undertaken in the country, involving twelve local walking trails, and with 240 farmers living on the Beara Way alone, the scale of community collaboration becomes clear.
It retraces the steps of O’Sullivan Beare in 1603 from Beara to Leitrim through farmlands, forest paths, remote bog lands, ancient heritage sites, unique villages and landscapes.
The Beara-Breifne Way walk will take you through Portumna and by Lough Derg. (Image: Shutterstock)
The story goes that in the aftermath of the Battle of Kinsale, Donal Cam, chieftain of the O’Sullivan Beara clan, and his followers undertook this epic 14-day march. Many clans were involved in both the march and in the skirmishes which took place, and the story lends a historical theme to the route.
One of the walking trails that joined to form the Beara-Breifne walkway was the Hymany Way in east Galway, which begins in Portumna and runs to Ballygar.
Parke’s Castle in Leitrim which will also be passed along the route. (Image: Shutterstock)
Pat Glynn, who helped establish The Hymany Way says: “The route is all marked out with plaques, signposts and map-boards that tell walkers all about the surrounding local myths, ruins, various sites, nature and hedgerows.”
Anybody can walk the Way at any time as local farmers have given access through their lands.
As a general rule, it is best to be “over prepared than underprepared and waterproof clothing and boots are essential,” said Glynn. Depending on how far walkers plan on going, they should carry food and water, as well as a first aid kit.
Enda Kenny with Jim O’Sullivan, organising committee of Beara-Breifne Way (left) and Michael Starrett, CEO of Heritage Council at the launch of the Beara-Breifne Way Heritage Stamps and Walking Passport. (Image: MerrionStreet.ie/Flickr)
Beara-Breifne Way Heritage Stamps and Walking Passport have also been launched so now all walkers can collect a stamp based on the heritage of each town and the village the pass through.
The Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the “development ultimately provides walkers and cyclists, either visiting Ireland or holidaying at home, with a unique experience of our countryside on a route through ten counties from Cork to Leitrim. It is great to see tourism infrastructure like this being delivered in the year of the Gathering 2013 and there is no doubt that projects like this will encourage continued growth for the future.”
*We don’t for one second think this walk will be easy – it just made for a good headline.
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Absolutely brilliant. This is very positive and a natural tourist destination for the nature conscious.
@ Marlon Major
very true and possibly the answer to the poll today about holiday plans
500k!!! My goodness!!
Seriously though Ireland has some stunning places tucked away! People really need to get out and start exploring! There is always something new to see!
Walked the Grand Canal with the bro a few years ago. Took 4 days and passed thru some fantastically unspoilt countryside. Couldn’t recommend highly enough, and it’s out there ready and waiting❕
Did you camp along the way Tony?
I’d like to say yes but we stayed in B&Bs, in Sallins, Edenderry and Tullamore. It actually added to the experience in that we got to meet locals each night…and didn’t have to carry as much on our backs!
Cycling around ireland for charity in august, might try and take this in, sounds nice.
Ireland’s own Camino!
How much of it is along busy roads?
Several of these way-marked routes are unusable due to heavy motor traffic and there is no joy walking in single file as cars and trucks speed past you.
Well don’t walk it then stay in and have a good moan
I’d love to do it!
I’d love to do it to Ailis. Maybe we could do it together.
Ailís, I think ‘Good News Caravan’ is asking you out. I sense another TheJournal.ie dating story!
Maybe we could! Can you start a fire using flint and kindling should the unthinkable happen? That is, we take a wrong turn and are lost to civillisation and have to resort to making a cave habitable and killing our own meat.
The romance is clearly blossoming. Good luck you two!
You like meat too? I will start saving for that ring.
Looks class. Would love to get on the bike and do it over the holidays. Fair play to all involved… I’d imagine you would come across some really interesting areas off the beaten track. I live near the great southern trail in limerick (which is a conversion of the old railway from limerick to Tralee) and you see some very cool places you would never see on the road and I can imagine this would be the same…
Sounds good Barry. I walked part of the Beara-Breifne Way in Galway recently, which is really near my house. It was amazing to see parts of the country that I’ve never seen before and that were right on my doorstep.
Yeah that’s it Amy… Tis great to see places that you’d never come across other than going out for an oul ramble… We walked the length of Valentia island today off road and came across some
class spots… Thank god I got an A in leaving cert geography, otherwise no one would have been able to identify that sea stack/sea arch
Is there a link to a map version of the walkway?
http://bbgreenway.com/clans/orourke.html Check it out Neil.
Right on Micheal,
The Leitrim end should be worth seeing ,really beautiful
Right on Micheal , the Leitrim end should be worth seeing, really beauty full
my two favourite counties,now i can walk :)
Yet we cant build proper roads between these counties!
You are confusing we, the people, with an inept government.
In one case we get one vote every 5yrs or so, in the other we see what we can do when we take matters into our own hands as communities.
Great achievement, looks like I’ll be going on a little holiday this year after all. They deserve my meager support.
You can download all walks on the Heritage Council website and can get your local area maps in printed form at your local tourist office.
Looks like a great walk for a charity event, might look into this further :)
I know the West Cork section is actually the old railway line hooking up Bantry, Skibbereen, Clonakilty and Bandon to Cork city. The very idea that they are turning it into a walking and cycling path kills any notion of these towns ever getting connected by rail again.
That’s because they don’t need it, totally impractical to ever open such a line again. A good quality bus service is more than adequate for towns like that. They had trains at time when there was no auto transport and terrible roads.
A fantastic idea, and I really hope it takes off.
I’d don’t think so Kevin. Middleton has a train link build in the last few years. It’s population is similar to that of Bandon if not less. The people of East Cork are pushing for the line to be extended to Youghal which has a population of just about the same as Clonakilty, that’s we’re the East Cork line would end but a West Cork line would still have Skibereen and Bantry to go which also have a similar population to all the other towns I mentioned.
Nice picture Amy, are you free for a walk sometime ?
Thanks RB… Not sure if I’d make all 500k. Nice shades.
You look fit enough to me !!!
Thanks!
This is great that they have linked up these walks.
However this needs a good website with good maps. it needs more promotion and symbol/ logo just like the camino de Santiago.
Woohoo! Ireland’s answer to the Camino de Santiago – without the weather, cheap accommodation or cheap wine!
very good article, & stunning photos!
Thank you
I have read the book “The last prince of Ireland” by Morgan Ellwyn. A must read! Truly amazing and inspiring. From a fellow O’Sullivan
Wondering which leitrim villlage has the stone wall remains of building relating to his final destination in leitrim?!
Having trouble finding the Heritage Council website for the map-anyone got a link? Thanks
does anyone know if the villages close enough to find accommodation every night?
have your say