“Walking on Water in Drimoleague” Read all about it

At 64 km from Cork City to Drimoleague the promise of a special day out needed to be likely. Driving in glorious weather through West Cork made the journey part of the treat. It seems large chunks of West Cork have become a sort of theme park with the great Michael Collins RIP as its focus. Themed brown signage seemed everywhere and a tad “tacky”. On the other hand the folk of Drimoleague are living in the now. Their “Drimoleague Heritage Walkways” is a worthy celebration of local outdoor amenities.

With our own Bríd Ní Dhomhnaill (local and proud of her area) leading us we got a tasting menu of the walks available. The fast flowing Ruagach, a tributary of the Ilen River, accompanied us most of the way. The sunny and “up for it” walking companions made for a natural “high”. So when we came to the three arched bridge at Ahanafunsion, we forsook the bridge and opted for the impressive stepping stones to cross. In the photo of the crossing some carefree walkers may well be walking on the water with boots and socks dry. Bríd selected a shady nook for our picnic spot and because we were so well behaved we got a small treat each!

Our next stop was the Famine mass grave – that part of the country was particularly hard hit and the situation in Gaza was not far from our minds. As ex- INTO members with memories of the Drimoleague NS strike, our images of that time were anchored in the school we passed. We visited the church and all too soon we were back at base. We were much impressed by Bríd’s home place and the community efforts to keep Drimoleague on the map. We would have stayed longer locally but we were unable to dine due to a circumstance beyond our control on this occasion. A dozen or so moved on to Dunmanway, famished and needing to rebuild our strength. The “mixed“ quality of Presidential candidates to date was mentioned. In a flight of fancy the number of capable candidates Cork RTAI could put up was striking. In fact in “The Tea Pot” as we dined, one of our members was seen to “work the room” as in what looked very much like canvassing. Thankfully that member did not insist on telling us “Lots of my friends are urging me to let my name go forward”. The moment passed and we reflected on a memorable day in weather beyond expectation in newly-discovered (for many) Drimoleague.

Well done, Bríd, and all who made it possible!