The first walk of May was the Wednesday evening “Cuckoo” walk led by Goretti Campbell. Alas on this occasion the regular visitor to Cush forest did not sing for us and so the group made a detour to the grassy knoll and surrounding areas.

Subsequent Wednesday evening walks included the Eastern Galtees led by James Bourke, the Glen of Aherlow led by Paddy Bourke and Slievereagh in the Ballyhouras led by Mary Murphy. Finally, on the last day of May, James Bourke led a large group on a new route to Bane Hill – the route included new pathways, that have since led to East West Mapping upgrading part of their map of the Galtees!

Nine Sunday walks were also held in May, with club members travelling as far away as the Maamturks for a traverse of the mountain range on May 20th, led by John Lonergan. The following day O’Neill brothers Thos and Willie led a sizable group on St Declan’s Way in the Knockmealdowns from Goatenbridge to Mount Melleray, while Margaret Hayes brought a C group to Red Hill in Cappawhite. Throughout the month there were several walks in the Galtee range such as Kevin Finn’s 5-peak A walk, Temple Hill led by Paddy O’Donoghue, the Blackrock Valley by Catherine Horan and Glengarra Woods by Paddy Bourke.

On the last Sunday in May some club members headed for the Slieve Bernagh mountains in Co. Clare on a scenic walk led by Michelle O’Mahony while others walked up Tipperary’s famous Slievenamon. So all in all it was a very active month for the club.

Check out our Flickr page for photos of each of the walks. You will also find these and synopses of some of the walks on our Social Media channels (Facebook and Instagram).

By Emily Gleeson, PRO Galtee Walking Club