Club walk Sunday 30th May 2021

Knockanuarha/12 O'Clock Hills, Co. Clare. Meet O'Halloran's (Emo) petrol station, Church Road, Tulla V95 3YW at 9.30am to travel on to start of walk. Duration: approx. 3.5 hours. Length: 13kms. Boots only. No facilities, so bring lunch etc. Contact walk leader Fiona in advance if you intend to travel, as Covid regulations still apply. 

Directions: This link should take you to to the meeting point if your smartphone is enabled. 

Otherwise: Take M18 for Limerick. Leave motorway at Exit 13 (Tulla). At first roundabout, take first exit for Tulla and stay on this road (R352) for 13kms until you get to a staggered crossroads (signposted Tulla 1km). Go left here. On way into village, pass large St Joseph's secondary school on left and the petrol station is just after that on the left-hand side of road. 

Alternatively, for the scenic route head for Loughrea, Gort and at T-junction on way into Gort, go left and follow signs for R458 Crusheen. About 6kms from Gort, take left-hand turn signposted R462 Tulla. When you get to village, at Y-junction keep right to stay on R462 (sign for Sixmilebridge). Pass St Mochulla's NS on left. Stay on R462 and the petrol station is on right-hand side of the road on way out of village. 

Journey time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes either way. 

Après le déluge...

There's an Irish proverb that goes 'A wet and windy May, fills the barn with corn and hay'. That's fine if crops are your thing. If not, and if you had the misfortune to have been out and about yesterday, you'll have squelched home, and clutching a restorative hot whiskey in one withered hand and your smartphone in the other, spent some considerable time googling 'waterproof jackets'. Or 'trench foot'. Or, if last night's rain was anything to go by, 'lifebuoys'. Mmm. The joys of the Irish 'summer'. 

In anticipation of our first official club walk on Sunday,  here's a link to Russ Mills' blog where he outlines what you need to know about waterproofing. It's his most read post, apparently. 

Finally, here's a very entertaining take on precipitation from www.thedailyedge.ie, just in case you are taking shelter from the gleidearnach while reading this. 

Club walk Sunday 23rd May 2021

Slieve Aughtys. Leader: J. Curley. 10kms/2-3 hours/trails, tarred roads and boggy sections. Boots necessary. Further details will be sent out by text. 

Covid regulations still apply. If you're planning to go, please contact Jim beforehand. 

Climb for Galway Hospice

Galway Hospice are encouraging clubs to take on the Croagh Patrick Challenge this June. 

Covid-19 means that they can't hold their annual fund-raising climb this year, but they have been in touch to say that you can Climb for Hospice from home!

Croagh Patrick is 800 metres high. This June, they want clubs to take on the challenge to reach the summit locally. You can walk, run or cycle 80km over the month of June – that’s only 2.5km each day!

Register now at www.galwayhospice.ie/climb and you'll receive a free Galway Hospice t-shirt. 

Fundraise online with iDonate or receive a sponsorship card.

Funds raised through the Climb help Galway Hospice to care for patients and their families.

Please help support our care by taking on the Croagh Patrick Climb this June.

For more information, contact Galway Hospice Fundraising on 091-770868.

Irish Adventure Film Club festival

  We have had an email from the Irish Adventure Film Club, who run the Irish Adventure Film Festival. They have recently started an online monthly Adventure Film Club. This month's film is, Climbing Blind which will take place on Wednesday next, May 12th and will be followed by a live Q+A session.

Climbing Blind, is the incredible (and nail-biting) story of the first blind ‘lead’ on the 450ft Old Man of Hoy in Scotland. As part of the screening there will be a live Q+A with Jesse (the blind climber) about the film and his experiences overcoming adversity. The film itself has won 12 international awards.

Details and link to event below.

Facebook Event Link: https://fb.me/e/ENXjp9U9

Ticket Link (for those that don’t use Facebook) : http://bit.ly/climbingblind

Climbing Blind Trailer: https://bit.ly/3uvETsB

Discount code: afcmay-club

The discount code that will give them 25% off the ticket price (€6).

Though wisdom is good at the beginning, it is better at the end....

It's almost hard to believe what has happened to our world since the pandemic began, but it's equally difficult to believe that from tomorrow, Monday 10th May 2021, we are leaving the last fourteen strange months behind us and with a mixture of hope and excitement, are free to make plans again. Inter-county travel is permitted and small organised groups (max. 15 people) can meet outdoors. 

This means that we can get back to doing what we love. The Committee is putting together an updated walking calendar for the remainder of 2021, so anyone who wishes to lead a walk  please contact the Club Secretary on the Rosway phone number. To make up for lost time, we plan to have a walk every week for the forseeable future. If any assistance is needed with reccis etc., there are experienced leaders within the Club who will help and advise, so please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

See below for schedule for next few weeks. Details will be sent out by text closer to the date of the walk. 

Sunday 23rd May: Slieve Aughtys. Leader: J. Curley

Sunday 30th May: Knockanuarha, Co. Clare. Leader: F. Maguire

Sunday 6th June: Location TBC. Leaders: B. Barrett and G. Quinn

The Killarney weekend away which was postponed from last year will now take place from 25th to 27th June (Leaders L. and J. Roche). People who have paid their deposit but are not Club members are welcome to travel, but for insurance purposes, cannot participate in the organised walks. Membership is still open for those who wish to join. Liam has sent on information on the weekend, which you can access here. 

A training session for those who want to do the 'A' walk (Carrauntoohil) will take place on Sunday 16th May. Meet Kinnitty Castle at 10am. Duration: 5 hours approx. Bring full gear and lunch (links to Club  gear lists on right hand side of this page). Contact walk leader L. Roche if attending. 

Covid regulations still apply to all walks and meet-ups. At the moment, this means that you will have to make your way to the start of each walk under your own steam, let the walk leader know you'll be going on the walk, stay 2m apart and do not attend if you feel unwell. 

To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.
Abbey Hill, May 2021. © F. Maguire