Barrow Way Walk 2019

Friday morning, September 6th, 2019, saw the launch of the Barrow Way Walk take place on the Horse Bridge in Athy, Co Kildare. In attendance were representatives from Waterways Ireland, Sport Ireland, Get Ireland Walking, Carlow, Laois & Kildare County Councils respectively.

The key is in the name of the Barrow Way Walk, as in its essence it is a free event created to facilitate a large walk along the River Barrow in three counties simultaneously. The event is the brain child of Waterways Ireland and Get Ireland Walking who conceptualised the idea on the back of the Waterways for Health initiative.

Pictured at the launch of the Barrow Way Walk at the Horse Bridge on the river Barrow in Athy were John Boyle (Dir Waterways Ireland) Cllr Mark Wall, Cllr Andrea Dalton (Mayor of Carlow), Peter Carey (CEO Kildare County Council), Deborah Foley (Athy Sports Hub), Jason King (Get Ireland Walking), Michael Brennan (Carlow County Council), Majella Fennelly (Laois Sports Partnership), Emma-Jane Clarke (Sport Ireland), Martha-Jane Kehoe and Sandra Corrigan (Carlow Sports Partnership), John Doran (Kildare Sports Partnership), Damien McWeeney (Sport Ireland), Eddie Hennessy (Kildare Sport Partnership), Jim Fitzpatrick and his dog Piper, Gerry Murphy (Laois C.C.), Syl Merrins (Kildare Sports Partnership), Hugh Fanning (Waterways Ireland), Sean ward, Colm Ward (Fisherman’s Inn), Anne Duff and Alice Carroll (LSP Volunteers). Photo: michaelorourkephotography.ie

In a brief summation, Waterways for Health is a programme designed to help and encourage participants in rehabilitation services to engage in gentle exercise in and around Green and Blue spaces. With the emphasise placed on showing participants how to utilize the incredible scenery that Ireland is blessed to have in order to better their mental and physical health. The benefits seen and vocalised by participants were vast and instantaneous, and so, in a bid to engage with as many people and as many demographics as possible, the Barrow Way Walk was born.

After linking in with the identified county’s Local Sports Partnerships; Carlow SP, Laois SP & Kildare SP, it was decided that the best time to host this event would be during the European Week of Sport, and, with the backing of Sport Ireland, it was confirmed that September 29th, 2019 would be the date that this mass participation event would take place.

In order to accommodate all levels of fitness, mobility and time constraints, there are approximately 5km / 10km / 18km routes available within each county. The advantage of these walks is that each route has a meeting point and time where a bus will collect participants and ferry them to the start point of their respective walk. Each person then simply walks back to their car, at their own pace with a walk leader, first aid support and sweeper on every route. There will also be a hydration station present before and after the walks to encourage a ‘leave no trace’ practice – NB there will be no plastic bottles available at any of the events.

Further to this, each registered participant will be given a draw-string bag with some goodies provide by the Local Sports Partnerships. Due to this, the bus service and the provision of tea/coffee after the event it is essential that each participant registers on www.barrowwaywalk.ie before the event as non-registered participants may not be catered for.

Pictured at the launch of the Barrow Way Walk at the Horse Bridge on the river Barrow in Athy were John Boyle (Dir Waterways Ireland) Cllr Mark Wall, Cllr Andrea Dalton (Mayor of Carlow), Peter Carey (CEO Kildare County Council), Deborah Foley (Athy Sports Hub), Jason King (Get Ireland Walking), Michael Brennan (Carlow County Council), Majella Fennelly (Laois Sports Partnership), Emma-Jane Clarke (Sport Ireland), Martha-Jane Kehoe and Sandra Corrigan (Carlow Sports Partnership), John Doran (Kildare Sports Partnership), Damien McWeeney (Sport Ireland), Eddie Hennessy (Kildare Sport Partnership), Gerry Murphy (Laois C.C.), Syl Merrins (Kildare Sports Partnership), Hugh Fanning (Waterways Ireland), Sean ward, Colm Ward (Fisherman’s Inn), Anne Duff and Alice Carroll (LSP Volunteers). Photo: michaelorourkephotography.ie

For more information on this event please see Carlow / Laois / Kildare Sports Partnerships’ social media platforms or visit: www.barrowwaywalk.ie