‘At 86, he announced he was going to walk the National Famine Way with me — all 165km of it’ 

Walking Ireland’s new National Famine Way, from Strokestown to Dublin, with her father was a journey Caroilín Callery will never forget

Caroilín and Jim at a memorial along the National Famine Way

Caroilín Callery

‘Bell!” my father bellowed for the umpteenth time — taking up his new, self-appointed position as Bicycle Bell Inspector on the National Famine Way. The startled cyclists waved their apology for whizzing by us unannounced along the Royal Canal.

People have had many strange and varied reactions to Covid and lockdown, though I suspect my Dad’s response, like most of what he does, was at the extreme end of the scale. At 86 years of age, he announced he was going to walk the National Famine Way with me — all 165km of it, from Strokestown, Co Roscommon, to the Dublin docklands.