Walking festival could have been in Westport

By Tom Gillespie

THIS year should have marked the 53rd anniversary of the launching of the highly successful Castlebar International Four Day Walks, sadly postponed because of Covid-19.

Two of the stalwarts of the festival in the early years, Matron Kay Duffy and Frank Nolan, are pictured here by Tom Campbell in July 1987.

They were participating in the opening parade that year when they led the visiting and local walkers through the main streets of the county town.

Had the walks taken place this weekend, the organisers would have over the years clocked up a whopping 212 days of hoofing it around scenic boreens, bog tracks and mountain trails. Hopefully, they will reach that landmark next year.

Since 1967 the Castlebar festival has attracted walkers from every corner of the world.

The Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar, was the original headquarters for the festival and all walks, including the ramble, started and finished there.

In recent years the HQ was housed at the Travellers Friend Hotel while Bridge Street Bar and Johnny McHale’s pub became popular post-walk venues with the visitors.

Along with the Castlebar International Song Contest, the Western Fair, Races of Castlebar, Pageant of St. Patrick, live chess game, Castlebar Chamber of Commerce were also the promoters of the initial walking festival under president, the late Michael J. Egan.

In 1996 Mr. Egan wrote on establishing the festival:

‘The history of the festival was that Tommy Brennan, a member of Westport Post Office staff, established a small travel agency inn Westport and got literature from all over the world. Included in the literature was information art a walking festival held annually Nijmegen in Holland.

‘He considered that Westport would be an ideal place for such a festival because of the surrounding countryside, which was eminently suitable for walking.

‘He tried to enlist backing for such a project but the Westport people turned it down, and in a bit of a pique, Tommy Brennan approached me, as president of the chamber in Castlebar, to see if Castlebar would be interested in promoting such an event.

‘The matter was considered by the chamber and because of the great amount of work involved in organising such a festival, the services of county engineer, Joe Egan, were enlisted.

‘Joe Egan had access to a large staff of engineers and road gangers, and they undertook the organisation of the festival.

‘It was quite a success in the first year but when the Troubles broke out in Northern Ireland and with the worldwide publicity engendered by such troubles, people abroad through there was war on here and that it would be dangerous to come to Ireland for such an event.

‘As a result it did not develop, really, until the foreigners were informed about the limited area covered by the Troubles.

‘The festival has gone from strength to strength in recent years and in 1995, 1,200 people, mostly non-nationals, came to Castlebar to participate and it gave a boost to tourism in the town.

‘At the present time (1996) there is a dedicated group keeping the festival alive and the names of Elaine Devereux and Ernie Sweeney spring to mind.’

I remember covering many of the parade launches on a Wednesday evening. The participants, carrying their national colours, marched through the town, ending up at the Welcome Inn Hotel where Ireland West Tourism hosted a reception in the ballroom.

The treat for the night were free pints of Harp, compliments of the Guinness Group.

The following morning the walks commenced. There were just road walks then, with different routes covered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and ending with the blister ball on Sunday evening.

The Castlebar organisers in earlier years did participate in the Nijmegen walks where thousands of international military personnel took part.

The flatness of the Dutch countryside encouraged the Castlebar representatives to invite the various marching military groups to Ireland where they would experience a far more diverse and colourful countryside.

This proved a huge success with the result that they still continue to visit Castlebar on the first week of July.

Castlebar introduced the rambles where the walkers discovered the bogs, rivers, mountains, flora and fauna and the unspoilt beauty of the west of Ireland.

Since then the cross-country rambles have incorporated the Letterkeen loop as well as Mulranny and Achill routes with the walkers being bussed to these locations.

Over the past 52 years the people of Castlebar have put their best foot forward in supporting the festival with special packages, flags and bunting and accommodation at a premium.

* Pictured, Kay Duffy and Frank Nolan at the opening of the Castlebar Four Day Walks in July 1987. Photo: Tom Campbell