Refugee Walk at Mt. Hillary

By ALANNAH O’CALLAGHAN

This year as part of Refugee Week, we organised a group walk over Mount Hillary, Banteer. On Wednesday 21st of June, a group of Ukrainian refugees and staff members Alannah, Yulia and Alina went over to tackle the green Knightfield Loop.

Mount Hillary is known locally as ‘Cnoc and Iolar’ - the Hill of the Eagle - despite its name there have been no sighting of the golden eagle in the area for the past century. Though there’s no eagles to be seen, the loops in Mount Hillary ascend gently through forestry roads between spruce, pine, and fir trees and are home to a variety of other creatures that can be found throughout Duhallow. On the clear, bright Wednesday evening of our walk, other than the chatter of our group, all we could hear was the sounds of birds and the gentle breeze through the trees. Basked in sunlight, it was impossible not to appreciate the colours of the Irish countryside. The foxgloves and fuchsia bright pink against the brown and green of the forestry, made the group stop and take pictures more than once.

The Knightfield Loop is 3.2km along forestry paths, however, I insisted that the group do a leg up along a section of the blue loop to a section where the trees have been cleared so that the group could see the view and admire the area from a high point. Though this meant walking uphill, the group was rewarded by spectacular views looking out towards Banteer and the surrounding area. Being someone who is lucky enough to get out walking in the Irish countryside regularly, I take for granted how beautiful it is around here. Seeing the group admire the landscape, flora and fauna gave me a new appreciation for Mount Hillary. We left the viewpoint and headed back to the trailhead to sit down for tea, coffee, and of course, a few chocolate biscuits! It was a lovely evening full of questions, terrible pronunciation of new Ukrainian words (on my part), laughter, and friendship.

For those of you who haven’t been to Mount Hillary before, there are a variety of walking loops that are perfect for all the family. The short green loop is 3.2km, or there are longer routes of 8km (blue loop) and 10.8km (red loop – pink on the map). All three are waymarked and easy to follow.

IRD Duhallow’s walking group will be walking over at Mount Hillary on Wednesday 12th of July at 7pm. The walk is free, and everyone is welcome to join. To register for the walk please call Alannah/Nuala on 029 60633.