Easter 1993/1994. A weekend I’ll never forget, not sure of the exact year — and a time when Éire Óg, was at the very peak of its powers. Thanks to Donal Nolan sending me on some photos he snapped of us, capturing the achievement for ever!
Donal Nolan and me taking a break on the scree slopes of Croagh Patrick.
Fresh off an incredible journey to the All-Ireland Club Final on St. Patrick’s Day 1993, three of panel decided to keep the momentum going and raise a few bob— in a slightly mad way. Donal Nolan, John Wynne and yours truly (can’t recall if there was a fourth at this remove) set ourselves a challenge: climb the highest mountain in each of Ireland’s four provinces over the Easter weekend.
L to R: Donal Nolan, Turlough O Brien, John Wynne in the Glen of Imaal, on the edge of the army firing range after we climbed the 4 Peaks in 3 Days!
Good Friday: Carrauntoohil, Kerry – the tallest in Ireland at 1,038m.
Easter Saturday: Croagh Patrick, Mayo – sacred ground in every sense.
Easter Sunday: Slieve Donard, Down – towering over the Irish Sea.
Easter Monday (or later the same Sunday, as it turned out!): Lugnaquilla, Wicklow – the Leinster giant, right in our backyard.
The sheer driving alone was an epic road trip of almost 1,200kms! We drove from Carlow to Kerry (270 kms) to Mayo (350 kms) to Down (320kms) and back home v Lugnaquilla (250kms) — a winding, glorious loop of wild terrain and wilder ambition. There was still snow on Carrauntoohil that April, but we didn’t let it slow us. In truth, we more or less ran up and down every mountain. Youth, fitness, and a kind of joyful madness carried us on.
John Wynne and Turlough O Brien on top of Ireland’s highest mountain, Carrauntohill.
In the end, we were so full of drive that we climbed Slieve Donard and Lugnaquilla on the same day. It was a bit mad, looking back. But we didn’t think twice about it at the time. That’s what the club spirit felt like back then — all heart, no hesitation.
L to R: Turlough O Brien, Saint Patrick and Donal Nolan!
It was a great era for Éire Óg and Carlow GAA – 5 Leinster Club titles and 2 All Ireland Finals. In many ways the Club had indeed made it to the summit of the GAA World. Looking back now, it wasn’t just the mountains we climbed. It was everything Éire Óg stood for: loyalty, teamwork, no shortcuts. Three lads in one car. Sleeping where we could. Eating what we could find. Racing up and down hills with lungs full of fire. That kind of spirit doesn’t just appear — it’s built over years by generations of those gone before us; through trust, effort, and a sense of belonging. Memories made.
Today’s 28km spin through the quiet roads of south east Wicklow reminded me yet again why I love cycling in rural Ireland. I parked up at Crossbridge Church and set off into the April air with no particular hurry—just the promise of a loop that would wind me through history, hills, and the kind of scenery that stops you mid-pedal to take it all in.
My first leg brought me around by Ballycumber and Kyle, two townlands that feel suspended in time. There’s a peaceful rhythm out here—sheep in the fields, the odd tractor, and birdsong that fills the gaps where traffic might be elsewhere.
Just after Kyle, I spotted a River Ford marked on my Ordnance Survey Map and I made a short detour: a quiet stone at the roadside caught my eye: a memorial to Luke O’Toole, the GAA’s first full-time secretary. Luke served ar secretary of the GAA from 1901 to 1929; an historic time in Irish history. He would have dealt with the most tragic day in GAA History; Bloody Sunday, on 21st November 1920, in Croke Park when British Forces murdered 14 innocent people during the game between Dublin and Tipperary. It’s a simple marker, but a powerful nod to someone who helped shape Irish sporting life from this very landscape.
Onward to Ballinglen! I stopped at the bridge to read another piece of local memory etched in stone—this one erected in memory of two local brothers Philip (22) and Patrick Lacey (22) who were shot beside the bridge while returning from the Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21st June 1798. A nearby seat, unveiled in 1998 by President Mary McAleese, invites you to pause. I did just that. Sat for a moment in the quiet, the only sound the murmuring of the Derry River below, and thought of the lives and stories rooted deep in this place.
The scenery all along the route was nothing short of spectacular—mountains rising up and rolling away to the horizon, softened by spring’s early green. There’s something nourishing about being surrounded by hills; they don’t rush you, just rise steadily and remind you how rejuvenating the outdoors are for mind and body.
From there, I rolled down into Tinahely, a real hub for hill walkers with its many fantastic loops. Rather than take the road out, I picked up the old rail walk, which winds gently along a narrow wooded path toward Tomnafinnoge Wood. It’s a lovely trail—tree-lined, quiet, and full of little surprises. One of those was a ‘rag tree’ along the way, its branches fluttering with ribbons and cloth left behind by those with wishes, prayers, or memories to leave. A simple, powerful tradition still alive in the hedgerows.
Tomnafinnoge is one of the last remaining mature oak plantations in Ireland. The magnificent oaks were planted by the Fitswilliam Estate several hundred years ago and timber from the forest is said to have been used in the construction of Trinity College Dublin, King’s College Cambridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral London. During the 1980s, a public campaign by locals, politicians and artists such as U2’s ‘The Edge’ ensured the survival of the woods from total destruction and the remnants are now protected as a ‘Special Area of Conservation’ owned and maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
After Tomnafinnoge, I turned uphill toward Ballyraheen. The climb had some bite, but nothing too fierce, and the reward was a roadside audience: a herd of colourful goats, lounging and curious, as if they were expecting me. Their presence gave the whole moment a kind of comic charm. You just don’t get that on a spin around Carlow Town!
The loop closed back at Crossbridge, with 446 metres of climbing in the legs and a warm satisfaction in the soul. Not a long spin, but one rich in variety—history, beauty, solitude, and the kind of quiet moments that make rural Ireland such a joy to explore by bike.
If you’re ever looking for a route that feeds the legs and the spirit, you could do worse than this corner of Wicklow. And if you’re lucky, the goats will be out to greet you too.
Saint Brigid gave us another Bank Holiday and I used it to head north to add another mountain top to my goal of completing the 32 Counties high Point Challenge and also to attend great coaching workshop in Coalisland on the way home. Two birds killed with the one stone so to speak!
Sawel, at 665 metres, is the highest point in counties Tyrone and Derry. It’s situated in the heart of the remote and beautiful Sperrin Mountains.
It’s a long long drive from Carlow – 300kms approximately but there was no rush and I enjoyed the drive up, especially driving through the Sperrins to get to the start point, which is on the Sperrin Road; a thin strip of black tarmac splitting the mountain range in two as it winds up and down over rises and falls of the approach. Looking out the window of the car lulled me into a false sense of confidence; all seemed calm, until I pulled into my parking spot near a cattle grid. ‘Twas then I realised the winds outside were blowing up a storm! The car was buffeted from side to side and I decided to face the car head on into the wind to lessen the effect. Wind speeds yesterday were 60kms/h with gusts up to 72km/h!
While it was cloudy overhead, visibility was good and it was mild when starting out. That didn’t last long and mist covered the mountain, turning to rain. Ground conditions were awful and I seriously considered abandoning the walk, but given the distance I had travelled and the fact that I could follow a fence all the way to the summit I decided to go ahead and complete it with caution. I had brought with hiking poles and they were a godsend.
It’s an easy route to navigate and impossible to get lost once you stick to the fence, which has to be crossed a few times over stiles. Underfoot the ground was soaked and at various points I was ankle deep in black treacle, trying to suck the boots off me!
The winds were increasing in speed as I ascended and made it extremely difficult to progress forward in. What looked on paper like an easy one to notch up, it was anything but. As a result it took much longer than it should have and I knew the challenge going down would be worse as the ground was like a bar of soap. Sure enough I had a few tumbles, one was particularly bad in which I hyper extended my knee as my leg went underneath me as I fell backwards. I took a moment to regain my composure but thankfully I was slowly able to pick a path down without any further incidents. No serious damage done.
It was unfortunate how the weather turned out as the views when I started were so nice and I had hoped to take in the panoramic views at the top. Unfortunately it was hard enough to even spot the summit cairn! It’s a boggy route at this time of year and I probably should have left this until summer time but given I was going to Coalisland I decided to bag it right away! As it wasn’t a Bank Holiday up north, there was no one else on the mountain.
That’s High Points 22 and 23 completed. 9 more to do, 2 of them are shared so 8 in effect. Will get a few more during the year but unlikely to complete it all in 2025!
Today showed how dangerous mountain tops can be and the importance of assessing the conditions, proper gear (need new boots) and navigation. 665 metres may not seem very high but weather at this elevation is completely different than when at the base of the climb. The out and back distance is only 5.5kms but even that is a challenge in those conditions.
As the morning mists lifts over our beautiful country bóthríns, the rolling of my tyres is the only sound I hear. This is bike touring – intimate, unhurried and endlessly rewarding. You see every road has a destination, some are hiding in plain sight.. here are 10 that brought me quiet satisfaction when I visited them during 2024:
1 Fourknocks Passage Tomb
15 kms south of Newgrange is the much lesser known Fourknocks Passage Tomb. Keys are available from a neighbouring house and you can explore this fabulous 5,000 year old tomb all on your own. Off the beaten track and all the more impressive for it.
2. The Seven Wonders of Fore
The Seven Wonders of Fore include the monastery in the bog, the water that flows uphill, the tree that won’t burn, the water that won’t boil, the anchorite in a stone, the mill without a race and the lintel raised by St Feichin’s prayers! This is a magical place in County Westmeath with a lovely 4kms walk to visit all the sites. Check it out!
3. Meelick Weir Crossing of the Shannon
The weir was damaged in severe storms in 2009 and again in 2015/2016, when the walkway was also damaged and was subsequently closed and is now reopened. It links the historic village of Meelick in east Galway to Lusmagh in west Offaly and forms part of the Hymany Way and the Beara-Breifne Way walking trails. It’s a unique spot – the three provinces of Leinster, Connacht and Munster meet right here. Lots of interesting historical sites on both sides of the Shannon here.
4. The Shannon Pot
The Shannon, Ireland’s largest river, at a magnificent 360kms, literally comes bubbling out of the ground close to the border between Cavan and Fermanagh in the Cuilcagh Mountains, at a place quaintly called The Shannon Pot or Log na Sionna as Gaeilge, “The Hollow of the Shannon”. It’s a large pool of golden brown water about 16 metres in diameter and at least 9 metres deep. The water reaches the Pot through a network of underground streams and many say that it actually starts in County Fermanagh at a place called the Pigeon Pot.
5. Clonfert Cathedral
I stumbled on a unique burial tradition here in Clonfert, where graves are lined with chicken wire and branches of laurel are woven into the wire to provide a beautiful resting place for the deceased. I was delighted to see this being done while I was being regaled with the true tale of the incredible 9 legged cycle! Anthony Flanagan lost his leg many years ago in a combine harvester accident. He didn’t allow it define him or inhibit him and he undertook an incredible charity cycle a couple of years ago along with 4 others. With just ONE LEG he completed a 420km cycle IN 24 HOURS for some local causes. The following year they cycled to Croagh Patrick AND HE CLIMBED IT! I came out of Clonfert graveyard with my head spinning, full of amazement at the spirit of Anthony and his absolute determination to get on with life regardless of the cruel hand he was dealt. St Brendan the Navigator founded his monastery here and it became a great seat of learning with over 3,000 monks here in its heyday.
6. Presley Ancestral Grave
It’s hard to reconcile the glitzy image of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll with this peaceful corner of Wicklow, but perhaps that’s the magic of it. As I stood there, the connection between past and present felt palpable. There’s a QR code on a sign at the entrance to the graveyard, which gives a detailed account of the Presley connection. Nearby Hacketstown also claims to be the birthplace of the Presley ancestors. There are court reports from the 1870s of a savage beating William Presley received on land he rented in Hacketstown, possibly by the ‘Whiteboys’, a secret agrarian society which defended tenant farmers land rights… I don’t think Elvis was singing the ‘Green Green Grass of Home’ in honour of the old sod!
7. Mount Melleray Monastery
Sad to say, but since I visited Mount Melleray over the Summer, news has broken of its imminent closure. It’s a Cistercian Abbey located in the Knockmealdown Mountains. The Abbey was founded on 30 May 1832 by a colony of Irish and English monks, expelled from the abbey of Melleray after the French Revolution of 1830, and who had come to Ireland under the leadership of Fr. Vincent de Paul Ryan. It was called Mount Melleray in memory of the motherhouse. I had a great chat there with Father Denis Luke, Prior of the Abbey, about cycling and the Camino, a really nice man who had a kind word for everyone. Soon there will be no one to greet visitors. Another loss…
8. Baunreagh 1798 Camp Field
I finally saw the sign for the 1798 Camp Field, where Father Murphy and the Wexford Rebels were camped out during the 1798 rising. What an epic march they made from Vinegar Hill, then were betrayed and badly beaten at the Battle of Kilcumney, got up as far as Castlecomer and forced back down country before he met his dreadful end at the hands of the Yeomen in Tullow, where he was stripped, flogged, hanged, decapitated, his corpse burnt in a barrel of tar and his head impaled on a spike in the Main Square. Hard to forget or forgive those terrible deeds.
9. W.B. Yeats Grave
The village of Drumcliffe, County Sligo is famous for being the final resting place of W.B.Yeats, whose grave is in the churchyard under this simple headstone. Yeats died in 1939 in a hotel in the south of France. He was buried in a pauper’s grace in the village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, close to Monaco. His body was returned to Ireland in 1948 and buried in Drumcliffe. The release of State Papers this week express serious doubts over the identity of the ‘Yeats bones’ .
10 Mullaghgarve Mass Rock, Sliabh an Iarainn
Mass Rocks were rocks used as altars during the Penal Laws in the 1700s and were usually located in out of the way locations. This one is perfectly hidden from view behind a tall pinnacle, on the side of Sliabh an Iarainn, County Leitrim and is quite difficult to find. Once you turn at the pinnacle there is a short little section of roughly cut steps that take you to this unique mass rock. It’s perfectly secluded and with watch outs on duty the priest and his flock could safely celebrate mass without fear of the redcoats or peelers surprising them.
The Dartry mountains, featuring famed Ben Bulben and its magnificent table top plateau, tower over Sligo and are one of the most stunning mountain ranges in Ireland. Truskmore is the highest point in the range and the walk to the summit, along the access road to the TV transmitter provides stunning views to the north out past Lissadell House, Mullaghmore, across Donegal Bay and Slieve League in the distance.
Looking west, Knocknarea towers over Sligo Town and Glencar Lake. Incredible views all round – if you get a break in the clouds and from the rain! The access road is located on the Gleniff Horseshoe Loop Drive. It involves climbing over the locked gate – well designed to enable an easy climb over!.
The access road provides a relatively easy walking route to the top. I parked close to the gate but out of the way of access and there isn’t much room for more than a couple of cars to park here. The zig zag access road is quite steep for long stretches, gradient averaging 10% – and a few rests help to catch the breath! The weather was quite rough, with very high winds, some rain and sleet and it wasn’t long before the mountain was shrouded in mist. Navigation wasn’t a problem, apart from the short section across the wet boggy area to make it to the Leitrim High Pint of 631 metres. The Sligo high point is located beside the mast and is slightly higher at 647 metres. A map is an essential requirement on hill walks as conditions can change rapidly and its so easy lose all sense of direction.
This was especially through when searching for the Leitrim High Point as it is located right on the edge of a very steep cliff face – if the wind had been from the north, it could easily have blown us off course and over the edge!
I was delighted to make this unplanned trip to take in these two High Points, making it 20 County High Points now completed. This climb would be a terrific one to do on a fine day as the views are outstanding. Counties Sligo and Leitrim are two of my favourites, neither are quite mainstream tourism but they both have an abundance of scenic mountain, lake and sea views plus a high number of heritage sites.Other laces worth visiting aer Carrowkeel, Knocknarea, Caves of Keash, Glencar Waterfall and the Devil’s Chimney!
Tombstone of WB Yeats at Drumcliff.
A word of caution while walking in this area; access may not always be possible across private lands and needs to be checked out in advance. Eagerly looking forward to my next County High point!
