Long-distance Trails in The Republic of Ireland - The Pilgrim Paths

The Pilgrim Paths

Influenced by the work done by the Council of Europe on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in the 1980s and 1990s, the Pilgrim Paths project was set up by the Heritage Council as its Millennium Project. Its purpose was to develop and support a network of walking routes along Irish medieval pilgrimage paths to raise awareness of natural and built heritage along these routes and to contribute to tourism and community development. Seven pilgrim paths were chosen for the project and, to date, three routes have been completed and are open for walking:

Each of these routes has been developed according to the guidelines for the development of National Waymarked Trails. They are waymarked with black marker posts with a yellow pilgrim symbol: this image is based on a stone from a pilgrimage site in County Cork which depicts a pilgrim with a Celtic tonsure, wearing a tunic and carrying a staff. Beneath the symbol is a directional arrow inset with a cross of arcs, one of the main symbols of pilgrimage in Ireland.

Of the remaining routes chosen, it was decided that two – Turas, in Glencolmcille, County Donegal, and Tóchar Phádraig, between Ballintubber, County Mayo and Croagh Patrick – were unsuitable for development as permanent walking trails, although funding was provided by the Heritage Council for conservation works. The Pilgrim's Road (or Slí Mhór) between Ballycumber, County Offaly and Clonmacnoise has been developed as a cycle way since so much of the route follows roads. No work has been done to date on the remaining route, Saint Declan's Way between Ardmore and Lismore in County Waterford.