Longford ‘in the business of welcoming people’ in Granard during pilgrimage

In a room within Granard’s Rath Mhuire Centre last Wednesday evening, Sister Maeve holds aloft a jug of milk as she toasts a group of pilgrim walkers with a ‘Sláinte!’

“If this was whiskey…!” she adds with a laugh.

The 15-strong group being hosted in the centre were not just visiting Granard, they were in the midst of a 540 kilometre pilgrimage walk that had begun in Downpatrick 5 days earlier and would finish at the other side of the country, specifically at the top of Croagh Patrick, where the group is expected to reach on September 29 next.

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Organised by American ecopreneur, Jeremy Schewe, the pilgrimage being undertaken by the group - most of whom are from the US and Canada - is the same one believed to have been embarked upon by St. Patrick himself ahead of his 40 day vigil on the reek.

While walking the route last year, Jeremy had stopped off in towns along the way, establishing local connections in anticipation of a return within the following twelve months. After stopping by Granard’s Rath Mhuire Centre and meeting with Community Development Officer, Pamela Dolan, and administrative assistant, Orla Lynch, plans were set in motion to turn the centre into a welcoming hub for his 2025 pilgrimage group. After 12 months of corresponding, it all came to fruition last Wednesday.

On duty to escort the pilgrims to the centre were members of the Granard Men’s Shed - Des Taylor, Eamon McIntyre, Mickey Murray and Nick Gaffney. In the centre itself, refreshments were plentiful with walkers enjoying rest and recuperation.
One pilgrim who needed the rest more than most was Colorado native, Tina Todd. With a bag of ice sitting on her ankle, she explained she had sustained the injury prior to the pilgrimage. Despite the pain, she still powered onwards thanks to a combination of prayer and ibuprofen. Despite her ordeal, Tina’s outlook on the situation remained hugely positive.

“The injury is painful but I figure especially with the history of people walking Croagh Patrick barefoot, this is just part of the journey. I’m going to attempt to climb Croagh Patrick too when we get there. I’m really leaning into prayer and community, and everywhere we go, people have offered me prayers. It’s been beautiful.”

The origins of Jeremy’s idea for an annual pilgrimage across Ireland lie in the recommended routes shared with him by Irish pilgrims he met while walking two Caminos, in addition to his own subsequent research of the walk undertaken by St Patrick.

Last year, with a group of 20 signed up, Jeremy decided to build an app for participants so they could take the route at their own pace without getting lost or losing track of their fellow walkers. With a goal of helping many more enjoy the mapped route, Jeremy says he is now focusing on forging connections with local councils and organisations in order to take the pilgrimage to a more established level.

He explained, “We’ve just started connecting with some of the county councillors in Longford. Our biggest gap right now is finding the allies to work with in places like Longford, Cavan and Westmeath; people who can help make this something real for the long term. We just need to get the midlands tied in. Events like this here in Granard today are just amazing, so if we can ripple this out into other communities we’re walking through, it would be great. The long term hope is to get more people on board this beautiful pilgrimage route that possibly St Patrick walked, regardless of whether they’re walking it for religious reasons, spiritual reasons, or just because they want to walk it.”

Prior to leaving the centre, the pilgrims paid a visit to the nearby Men’s Shed where they admired the beautiful woodwork creations on display. As they stood for photos cracking jokes in good spirits, all were completely unfazed by the arduous trek still ahead of them.

“They’re fantastic for doing something like this in Ireland,” said Rath Mhuire’s Orla Lynch. “It’s a huge undertaking because you’re not guaranteed the weather; you have four seasons in one day. Everyone in the centre, Sr Maeve, Pamela, Celine (Malone) Edna (Smith) and the lads in the Men’s Shed, everyone was so eager to meet the pilgrims coming through Granard.

They were genuinely interested in helping them in any way they could and the welcome they received was truly a testament to the people of the town. It must have been lovely for the pilgrims themselves to have experienced such a genuine reception.”

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Rath Mhuire Community Development Officer, Pamela Dolan added, “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome them to the town. We had been planning this for the last year with Jermey so it was great to see it all come together!”

Few words however could have better summed up the spirit of Granard that evening than those of Men's Shed member, Eamon McIntyre, who simply said, “We’re in the business of welcoming people!”