Mission complete

To cut a long story short, we finished the walk at around 11.30am on Saturday, 27th June. We'll try to slot in entries for the final four days at some stage; highlights such as the appearance of several more guardian angels and our epic 18 hours of walking on Thursday certainly warrant it. For now, here is the final route taken, over 600k and 17 days, through 9 counties. (The places where we stopped for the night are capitalised.)

Mizen Head - Goleen - Durrus - BANTRY - Kealkill - Inchigeelagh - Toons Bridge - MACROOM - Coachford - Donoughmore Cross - Bweeng - Dromahane - MALLOW - New Twopothouse - Buttevant - Charleville - CROOM - Patrickswell - Dooradoyle - Limerick - CRATLOE - Sixmilebridge - Kilkishen - Tulla - NOWHERE - Gort - Kiltartan - ARDRAHAN - Kilcolgan - Clarinbridge - Oranmore - GALWAY - Cloonboo - Headford - SHRULE - Claremorris - KNOCK - Kilkelly - Charlestown - TUBBERCURRY - Ballinacarrow - Collooney - Ballysadare - SLIGO - Drumcliff - Grange - Bundoran - BALLYSHANNON - Ballintra - Laghy - Barnesmore Gap - BALLYBOFEY - Convoy - Raphoe - St. Johnstone - DERRY - Muff - Quigley's Point - Carndonagh - Malin - MALIN HEAD HOSTEL - Malin Head

Update on the Mission Days 13-14

So the last two days went to plan, basically Sligo through Leitrim to Bundoran, Co. Donegal on day 13, and on through Ballyshannon and the Bluestack Mountains to a lake a few miles shy of Ballybofey on day 14.

As I write, a wrenching change of policy is taking place - basically we're going to just blast it out over the next two days and finish on Friday night.

It's going to be rough.

Due to a lack of phone battery this will be the last of the updates from the Mission until they finish when McKinney will blog on days 13-16 in detail. Check back over the weekend to see how the Missions adventures ended.

- Cillian

The Mission Mentioned on the Radio

Ronan Collins gave the Mission a brief mention this afternoon along with those doing other charity walks around the country.

The link to the show is below and the mention is around the 17:40 minute mark. The link will be active for a week until Thursday 2nd of July.

Ronan Collins Show 25th June

Day 12: Tubbercurry to Sligo

It took an unusually tough morning slog to get us down to our first rest stop of Ballinacarrow, although we could have helped ourselves by getting started a little earlier. It was a humid, muggy day and the N17 grew no wider until after Collooney, where we paid Kaner's uncle a quick visit before taking the dual carriageway straight up to Sligo Town.

The ultimate objective was Strandhill, where the Kanes have a holiday home (quickly dubbed the Last Homely House by Lord of the Rings fan McKeating).

McKinney complicated matters by getting lost without his phone in Sligo and wasn't picked up for the lateral journey by car to Strandhill until 8pm. Once there, however, lasagne and garlic bread were well received, as was a shoutout by yet another of Grennan's friends on Ocean FM, requesting that 'Walk This Way' be played for us. This may account for the otherwise improbable decision of several walkers, clearly gluttons for puishment, to go for an evening stroll before bed.

Distance Day 12: 35km

Theme of the Day: Thundering Lorries

Word of the Day: "Slog"

Day 11: Knock to Tubbercurry

"They'll treat ye well in Tubber", a passing motorist assured us as he dropped a fiver in the bucket.

How right he was - scarcely had we passed into the town later that evening, vaguely thinking about finding a spot to camp on the outskirts of the town, than a woman rushed out from her house to see what we were up to. Half an hour later, we were safely encamped on the pristine grass of the local GAA pitch. Mary, our guardian angel, inveigled the main man himself, Dick Byrne, into dropping by to open the clubhouse for us, and the Kennedys, a local family whose daughter suffers from cystic fibrosis, dropped by for a visit and pressed money on us for dinner and a couple of pints.

Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo: an unlikely contender for the best place in Ireland.

All this largesse was particularly welcome after a pretty tough day spent entirely on the N17. We had split into two separate groups on the way out of Knock. Kaner, nursing a sore Achilles, took it slow alongside Smodge and Tim, while the other four powered ahead through beauty spots like Hagfield, the sun ever lurking behind low-slung clouds.

Boredom hit hard, with Barry reduced at one point to "Like, why is it a PAIR of pants?" as a conversation starter.

Arriving in Charlestown, however, spirits rose as we got stuck into a good sit-down meal and dissected the Lions result with the aid of Neil Francis and the Sunday Tribune. A few metres down the road, we crossed into Sligo and stopped for the obligatory photo before ploughing on. The road narrowed thereafter, making it a single-file trudge up to the hospitable folk of Tubbercurry. Not quite sated by the milk of human kindness and the local Chinese, we grabbed a few cans of Bavaria and set the world to rights before settling down.

Distance Day 11: 35km

Theme of the Day: Renewed faith in the decency of mankind

Word of the Day: "Buckeroo"

Day 10: Shrule to Knock

With morale bumping up against the stratosphere following a good night's sleep and a look at the giant picture of ourselves in the Indo, the crew set off at a rattling pace with the aim of making it to Claremorris in time for the Lions match.

The weather was with us once more; Smodge decided to preserve his burnt shoulder by fashioning some sort of a tunic and strode through the peaceful countryside looking rather like a character from the bible.

Although we were looking to do 25k in just under five hours, McKeating's love for rugby outweighed his enthusiasm for breaks and complaining. With the arch-Wasp onside we made superb time, charging through the door of the pub just as the Sarth Effricans were finishing their anthem. The place was impressively full, and we are pleased to report that Mayo people know their rugby. Despite the result, the lengthy break ensured an easy final 10k down the N17 to Knock, where we finished the day not long past 6pm.

This is easy!

Distance Day 10: 35km approx

Theme of the Day: Smodge's various states of toplessness

Word of the Day: "Breakdown"

Mission in the Media (Again!)

Here's yesterday's article and picture from the Irish Independent. Many thanks to Bryan Buckley for the links.

Students Walk Tall for Charity

Saturday June 20 2009

A GROUP of students are trekking across the length of the country in a fundraising walk in aid of cystic fibrosis sufferers, writes Una Mulhall.

They will reach Knock, Co Mayo today as they continue their 570km journey from Mizen Head to Malin Head. They set out on June 11.

UCD psychology student Barry Flinn and friend Gavin Kane who decided to "do something pro-active and give ourselves a bit of a challenge" came up with the idea to raise funds for the charity in February.

The gruelling journey has had its pit-falls. Ten people set off on the trip, but three were forced to abandon it.

The group hope to raise at least €10,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. Their progress can be followed on their internet blog, http://www.blogger.com/www.mycharity.ie/event/mizenmalinmission.