16.09.2019
2019 Glendalough Camino the Best Yet!
The sun shone on the 2019 diocesan pilgrimage on Saturday last, September 14. The Glendalough Camino drew participants for all over Dublin & Glendalough to follow in the footsteps of St Kevin surrounded by the beauty of the Wicklow Mountains.
This year’s event, which takes the route of St Kevin’s Way from Hollywood to Glendalough, has been hailed as the best yet by organisers who were delighted to welcome so many pilgrims from so many different parishes.
About 40 walkers took part in the full 30 kilometre camino and set out from the ancient pilgrim church of St Kevin in Hollywood following a traditional blessing. A further group took part in a shorter walk from the Wicklow Gap to Glendalough. Many then gathered at the Upper Lake in Glendalough for a short service of thanksgiving.
This was the first year the camino has taken place on a Saturday. It had traditionally taken place on a Sunday but following feedback from diocesan clergy, the event was moved to enable them to join the camino with their parishioners.
The organisers, Canon Leonard Ruddock and the Revd Brian O’Reilly, who are the Rectors of the parishes at either end of St Kevin’s Way, were delighted with the support they received from the dioceses this year, in particular the great participation from their clerical colleagues.
Thanking all participants, Canon Ruddock, said this year’s pilgrimage was exactly how he had envisaged the camino being at its inception. “Today was about people gathering from all over the dioceses and getting out there to walk the Glendalough Camino. It has been the best ever participation and I want to thank you all for your support. Quite a number of our clerical colleagues have joined us and we are particularly grateful for that,” he stated.
There has been an upsurge in interest in pilgrimage in recent years as people search their very busy lives for meaning. St Kevin’s Way is one of the recognised Celtic Camino routes which can be used to count towards the Compostela for the Camino de Santiago and walkers can get their Camino Passports stamped in Hollywood and Laragh.
This video by the Revd Brian O’Reilly gives a lovely taste of the day:
Glendalough Camino – Diocesan Pilgrimage 2019 from Dublin & Glendalough on Vimeo.
