A DONEGAL man is walking a historic 600km route to Kinsale.
Adrian Gallagher, who is the Titular Chieftain of the Gallagher clan, left Donegal Castle on foot on May 26 and has now reached Co Cork.
He hopes to reach his destination later this week.
Adrian, who is from Carrigart and lives in Letterkenny, told the Donegal News that the trek combines his love for hiking with his interest in history.
“I’m following as close as I can the trek that was made down to the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, that’s 425 years ago,” he said.
Adrian found documentation on the route from the Irish historical record, the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland.
His interest in undertaking the trek was piqued when he discovered that members of the Gallagher clan were involved in the march, which was led by Red Hugh O’Donnell, Chief of the O’Donnell clan.
Adrian is taking in some of the locations that the march covered, including Belleek, Manorhamilton, Ballymote, the Slieve Bloom mountains, and Croom.
O’Donnell and his forces marched to meet Spanish military who had arrived to help with their efforts against the English. However, the ensuing events led to the Battle of Kinsale and then the Flight of the Earls.
Adrian has a keen interest in the history of the Gallagher clan.
He hopes to meet with Cork-based Gallaghers once he reaches his destination.
“I discovered that there was a family of Gallaghers around Mallow who had gone down to Kinsale with the O’Donnells but never got back home,” he said. “So, one of the things I’m hoping to do is maybe link-in with them.
“If there were people who were descendants of those who went to Kinsale, but who never went back, that would be a nice touch.”
Adrian will also be meeting with the McCarthy family who own the site of the Battle of Kinsale.
He has been covering about 25km to 35km each day, sometimes 40km. He has swapped between camping and staying in B&Bs and he has been met with warmth and hospitality along the way.
“It’s not the hike, it’s the people I’ve met,” he said. “It really would inspire you, their generosity and charity. They’re awfully nice people all along the road.”
This includes a kind group who invited him to stay with them in Newmarket in Cork, and a Donegal man he met in Rockchapel, also in Cork.
“On Sunday, it was very warm and I more or less got pulled into a pub along the road in a wee village, I didn’t even realise it was a pub,” said Adrian.
“I asked for a cool drink, then I was in there for about half an hour with them having the chats. That’s the kind of little things that happen along the road – just unexpected, unplanned fun. People stop to offer you lifts, people stop to chat. It’s not that I’ve not been speaking to anybody since I left Donegal, I have spoken to so many people.”
Adrian’s passion for hiking has taken him all over Donegal and to the Pyrenees between France and Spain.
He said walking along the roads is more difficult than the mountains on the feet. “I was delighted to make Belleek, never mind here!”
At Scanlons Bar, Knockaderry, Co Limerick