Stage IV of Royal Canal Way

It is time to see if we can get back on the trails again. Though some progress has been made on the Royal Canal Walk (47.5% of the journey completed) we have not advanced the other trails. The immediate next step is as follows:
Day/Date: Sunday September 12.
Walk: Stage IV of the Royal Canal Way (Thomastown Bridge to Mullingar).
Distance: 15K - more can be done if there is a desire.
Meeting points/times: A. 09.40 Connolly Station Dublin. (OR) B. 10.30 Maynooth Train Station.

The time and date for the announcement of the 2021/22 programme will be made known on Sunday.

Notes on celebrations:
In Kerry (where your facilitator is from) it is common to have a local or community celebration when an individual or a team is victorious in some area - it's called THE HOMECOMING. A most successful family which has some active members in The Phoenix One World Traipsers do not seem to have embraced this concept - when WD clears the board in Blas na hEireann, there is no homecoming in The Cusack Stand/Devitts or Cassidy's etc.. We do not expect a brass band or open-top bus in Portabello, however, the achievements do not seem to be marked in a celebratory way. Recently OD achieved great things - if he (together with WD and or ND) are able to attend on next Sunday September 12, he should bring along proof of his achievement and we will all have an appropriate celebration of a cup of tea.

Going back to the tradition in Kerry, when Clement Crean's Ram won the relevant competition in the West Kerry Sheep Trials, there was a mighty homecoming celebration. It was particularly memorable for some American visitors to Castlegrogory whose time in Ireland coincided with Clement's and his ram's triumph - it was their first time for them to see a ram in a pub (The bar: Fitzgeralds' Castlegregory of course!).

Well - that's enough for now - please respond to this email at this address or phone 087 2523467 if you would like to attend on next Sunday.
Registrations will close at 14.00 on Saturday September 11th.

MF
(Your Facilitator)