THURSDAY MAY 28TH – Stage 4: Lismore to Villierstown (14km)

• As we start out from Lismore, we’ll be met by local guide, Alice, from Lismore Heritage Centre who gives us a unique insight into the story of Lismore and it people. It’s amazing to think that this place was a centre of monasticism going back over 1,000 years in the time of St Carthage.
• We take a woodland trail into the historic town of Lismore to include a visit St Carthage’s Cathedral and to learn more about the treasured monastic story of this ancient place.
• The walk down the riverbank as we leave Lismore is amazing. It was here along this very river that pilgrims over the century made their way to Youghal Harbour before embarking on their voyage to Galicia to walk the Camino de Santiago. The rhythm of this day is very different to all that has gone before. Setting out from the stunning backdrop of Lismore, we move to the river’s flow deeper into the story of the people who passed this very way before. There’s a peace here that words cannot describe.
• It’s be lovely to take breaks along the way and enjoy lunch in the renowned Barron’s Bakery Cafe in Cappoquin.
• On arrival into Villierstown, we’ll have lunch in a local cafe before walking down to the riverbank to watch the River Blackwater ‘rolling along’ on its way to Youghal. It’s the perfect space for quiet reflection and a little music.
• That evening, we’ll take a 40 minute transfer into Dungarvan for our Gala Dinner and presentation of Certificates.

Lismore is a place that you cannot help but fall in love with as you pass through its quaint streets. It has a unique charm that makes you want to stay longer than your tiring limbs might allow. Lismore is justifiably proud of its long and distinguished history. Tracing its origins to the arrival of St Carthage in 636AD, Lismore was once a university city attended by scholars from all over Europe. The town is beautifully situated on the well wooded banks of the Blackwater. The Cathedral on the right is on the grounds of the monastic school foundations which reached the zenith of its reputation during the 8th and 9th centuries. There is nowhere quite like Lismore.

Alice O’Donoghue, from Lismore Heritage Centre, guides us down the hillside across the River Blackwater and reminds us of the mystical allure this place had for travellers through the centuries who, as they made their way to Lismore for study, no doubt landed at Youghal, the seaport of the Blackwater, and proceeded to follow a highway called the ‘Bealach Eochaille’ along the path of St. Patrick’s Cow, connecting Lismore with the interior of the country. 

The Castle still beats to the pulse of times past. It retains its mystique, its mesmeric charm; its lofty walls privy to stories that remain untold. The river flows serenely below as if knowingly bowing to the many who have walked its banks before.

FRIDAY MAY 29TH – Stage 5: Arrival into Ardmore (15km)

• We’ll travel to Ardmore by car and park up by 9am before we take our coach transfer to our starting point for our final day on St Declan’s Way. We’ve saved the best ’til last.
• Our final day’s leads us through quiet vales and wild countryside to where the sea gradually opens up before us as we arrive into Ardmore.
• On arrival into Ardmore, we’ll have lunch by the sea before taking the cliff path from the Holy Well and Hermitage of St Declan around to the monastic ruins.
• We gather at St. Declan’s Well to mark the moment before taking the scenic Cliff Path that leads around to the old monastic ruins. Here, by the shoreline, we sense we have arrived. It’s a place seeped in the Celtic soul of Ireland. Our local guide, James, adds even greater meaning to the story of this place on the hill. It will stay with you long after you’ve returned home.
• Wrap up by 4pm in plenty of time for you to make your journey home.

Along St Declan’s Way, it’s not the destination that matters; it’s the steps in between. An exception could be made for Ardmore. Here, by the shoreline, it feels like we have returned to source, to the very place where St. Declan built his own monastic settlement on the hill circa 416AD. Declan retired for greater seclusion to a little cell below overlooking the Bay and the ruined Church and Holy Well still lie in quiet repose to his memory.