Date: Saturday 23rd May 2020

Difficulty/Climbing (from * to *****)    **

Organiser: Ronnie Moore

Email: chairmanmao@eircom.net

Phone: 087 6297693

Address: Ronald Moore, 54 Elm Mount Road, Beaumont, Dublin 9

Entry Fee €5 on Eventmaster, plus €1 fees
Optional ACP or Audax Ireland Medal €7
1-day Licence if required €5

Closing Date: 16th May 2020

Entry on Eventmaster: EVENTMASTER-Penance or Perish 400

Inspired by a late night phone call from Eddie Dunne,  this route starts from Whitehall Church car park, heads west to pick up the old pilgrims way from Balycumber to Clonmacnoise on the banks of the Shannon, and on the route home, part of the pilgrims way to the great Benedictine Priory at FORE (where it is said the water from St Fechins well cannot be boiled).  Travelling west the route visits  TAGAHDOE ROUND TOWER, MONASTERORIS ABBEY, RAHAN  CHURCHES and LEMONAGHAN HOLY WELL via Leixlip, Castletown House, Edenderry and Rhode.  It winds its way into Ballycumber which is the gateway to the old pilgrims way to CLOMMACNOISE. Head back eastwards towards Ballycumber from Clonmacnoise eventually swinging north towards LEGAN, ABBYSHRULE, GRANARD, turning southeast to FORE  and east again to CROSSAKIEL and onto KELLS, visting en route  ABBEYSHRULE ABBEY, BENEDICTINE ABBEY at FORE (via the old pilgrims way), ST CIARANS HOLY WELL and the ROUND TOWER in KELLS. (the pilgrims way to Fore was marked by Fore crosses an example of which can be seen in the village).

Turn south from KELLS heading back home via Dunderry, BECTIVE ABBEY, DULEEK ABBEY, Garristown, Oldtown and back to Whitehall.

There is the obligatory sprinkling of grass down the middle road  sections (RUE O DONOGHUE ) and also a nice bog road after Rahan which is just a track, it is unsurfaced, and about 1.75k long.  It is fairly well pot holed !  The road from Fore to Crossakiel has its fair share of potholes too.  So lego wheel users beware.****

The route while largely flat does undulate in parts. There is a “nice little climb” into Crossakiel and the route from Duleek to Garristown is lumpy…..

I have kept the sections on any main roads down to an absolute minimum, the longest stretch is about 5k out of Granard along the Ballyjamesduff Rd, which then turns onto the more familiar  type roads (mosquitoes, yeti, wild dogs etc, etc).

RidewithGPS Map: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7416690

Entry Form: Download New Entry Forms