Step back in time-walk in the footsteps of your ancestors at Lough Derg - Sunday 11th September 2011

Join us, support us and celebrate with us –that is the message as Lough Derg enjoys its National Pilgrim Walk next weekend.

 

Lough Derg, listed as one of the top 10 pilgrimage sites in Europe in The Times, has been around for 1500 years so it is fitting it should enjoy a National Day to celebrate that rich past in Ireland’s Christian heritage. Anyone who has had the privilege of being able ‘to do’ Lough Derg knows that it involves a fair bit of walking, indeed pilgrimage the world over is synomous with walking, a journey of sorts...the National Pilgrim Walk is not just any old trek but a walk following the ancient path to the famous pilgrimage site, which our ancestors would have travelled by foot.

 

Taking place on Sunday 11^th September, it is a fitting way to celebrate another successful Season. For the third consecutive year there was a slight increase in the number of pilgrims to Lough Derg – a good news story when there is so much doom and gloom!

 

Lough Derg is welcoming ‘walkers’ and fundraisers to join together on this 9km path.  This interesting walk is part of the Heritage Council's Pilgrim Paths network. The walk follows the footsteps of the medieval pilgrim, not to Station Island where pilgrims go today, but to the threshold of the larger Saints Island, which acted as the gateway to Station Island several hundred years ago.

 

Entry forms and an information pack can be requested directly from Lough Derg or downloaded from www.loughderg.org .

 

Manager, Deborah Maxwell commented,

 

“It should be a fun day out for all the family.  Whilst yes it is an important fundraiser, more importantly it is an opportunity to unite friends of Lough Derg throughout out the country on one day. It also happens to fall on the 10^th Anniversary of the awful 9/11 tragedy so maybe it s a fitting way to remember those lost in that act of violence.”

 

So bring the family, bring a friend but most importantly bring a good pair of walking shoes!  If you can’t make it to Lough Derg for the National Day Walk-that’s okay there will be lots of opportunities to get involved. Unite with us in the spirit of Lough Derg in your own community.

 

The All-Ireland County Challenge!

For those who cannot make it to Donegal, Lough Derg is challenging pilgrims or walking clubs to organise or take part in a similar distance in every county in Ireland!  So if you do a little bit of walking already, just mark the 11^th September in your diary, invite along a few friends and family and register your walk with Lough Derg, who will fully support you with all you need to make the day a success. Pilgrims can check out which counties have signed up so far on the website or by calling the Island.

 

Fundraising makes all the difference

The Pilgrim Walk is only one of Lough Derg’s fundraisers-Deborah Maxwell, Manager has also just also announced she will be running the London 2012 Marathon in aid of Lough Derg, and children’s charity Get Kid’s Going which helps disabled children become involved in sport.

The Annual Fundraising Draw, which invites you to ‘spend a tenner’ to be in with a chance of winning €15,000, will take place on 7^th October. Tickets are still available