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Rossorry Rector undertakes a pilgrimage to St. Patrick’s Cathedral barefoot
Revd Stephen McWhirter preparing for his walk to Dublin.
The Rector of Rossorry Parish Church in Clogher Diocese, Revd Stephen McWhirter is undertaking a pilgrimage of a different kind by walking from his church on the outskirts of Enniskillen to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.
Revd Stephen will be walking the 100 miles over two weeks in Lent in a rather different way to most, in barefoot.
His 'Soles for Souls' walk will begin after morning service in Rossorry on Sunday, 30 March and finish in Dublin on Palm Sunday, 13 April with distances over the two weeks varying from just a few miles to 11 miles each day.
Revd Stephen explains; “I had initially thought, walking by myself, I’d just head off. However I need a lot of paperwork and registration with both the PSNI and the Gardai to happen. Also support vehicles travelling ahead for me to warn oncoming traffic.
“I needed to attend to a fairly rigorous Risk Assessment as I’ll be walking barefoot. As you know I’ve experienced this from last Lent however a walk to Dublin does seem a step up.
“Following the biblical principal of taking nothing with me, I’m doing exactly that so will be heavily reliant on the generosity of strangers to feed and water me. I’m contacting colleagues both in Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic churches who are allowing me to sleep in churches on the way to Dublin,” he said.
His route will include the following stopovers at the end of each of the days listed below;
Sunday 30 March �' Bellanaleck, Co, Fermanagh (Cleenish Parish Church)
Monday, 31 March �' Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh (Derrylin Parish Church)
Tuesday, 1 April �' Belturbet, Co. Cavan (Annagh Parish Church)
Wednesday, 2 April �' Cavan (Urney Parish Church)
Thursday, 3 April �' Lavey, Co. Cavan
Friday, 4 April �' New Inn, Ballyjamesduff (Ballyjamesduff)
Saturday 5 April �' Virginia, Co, Cavan (Lurgan Parish Church)
Sunday, 6 April �' Carnaross, Co. Meath (St Ciaran’s Roman Catholic Church)
Monday, 7 April �' Kells, Co. Meath (St. Columba’s Church)
Tuesday, 8 April �' Navan, Co. Meath (St. Mary’s Church)
Wednesday, 9 April �' Trim, Co. Meath (Agher Church)
Thursday, 10 April �' Maynooth, Co. Kildare (Maynooth)
Friday, 11 April �' Leixlip, Co. Kildare.
Saturday, 12 April �' St. Michan’s Church, Dublin
Sunday, 13 April (Palm Sunday) �' St. Patrick’s Cathedral via St. James’s Gate
Also along the route, Revd Stephen will be calling at a number of national schools, speaking to pupils about the history and role of pilgrimages.
The route is filled with places of historic interest. The original church of Rossorry is named after St Fanchea who helped to build a monastery on the banks of Lough Erne. He will also be crossing through places such as Trim, where a monastery was traditionally thought to be founded by St. Patrick. Maynooth, also on Revd Stephen’s walking route is a well-known university town served by two churches named St. Mary’s; St. Mary’s Church of Ireland which is incorporated into the walls of St Patrick’s College, Ireland’s national seminary for the training of priests and St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church.
At St. Michan’s Church, Dublin dating from 1686, it was the site of the first Christian chapel dating from 1095 and operated as a Catholic Church until the reformation. It has served the Church of Ireland parishioners in Dublin for more than 300 years.
Revd Stephen’s final walk day will begin at St. Jame’s Gate, the traditional beginning of the medieval pilgrimage route, with his destination of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin which for over 800 years has been a site of religious significance.
Revd Stephen will be raising funds along the way for a community hub at Rossorry and extension to the car park as well as the Aisling Centre in Enniskillen.
While Revd Stephen will be accompanied on parts of the journey by a support team, he will be relying on his sturdy staff for support as he walks. It has personal significance for him as it belonged to his father, Roy, who used it at Bangor Heritage Centre where he played the role of St. Patrick for visitors.
Donations can be made through a QR code or the “gofundme Soles for Souls” page.
Regular updates will be made throughout the walk on the Rossorry Church Facebook page.