Naas man recognised for peace walk work

Naas man Donal Corcoran has been congratulated by the President Michael D Higgins for completing the European Peace Walk.

The President described it as a “remarkable achievement, and one that one, your family and we all take great pride in”.

“I congratulate you and wish you continued success in the future,” he wrote to the Naas man.

The European Peace Walk (EPW) is a trans-national walking adventure from Budapest to Trieste.

A former teacher and public representative, Mr Corcoran just completed his sixth 500 km walk across Eastern Europe from Hungary through Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, finishing in Trieste in Italy.

He was one of the pioneers of the Peace Walk.

“When I walked this inaugural walk at the age of 73 starting, then, in Vienna, I found this walk a real challenge because then we were really co-designing the walk.”

Mr Corcoan says there were problems with uncertain directions and distances, but because it was the first time any group of walkers had walked it, he and his fellow walkers relayed the information back to the organiser, Ardclough man Grattan Lynch.

However, Donal approached the whole affair with a sense of adventure.

“We were the pioneers of this Peace Movement.

“We left Vienna on July 28, 2014, the centenary of the commencement of World War I”.

He says the group of international walker were complete strangers to each other. “We headed into the great unknown,” he said.

“It has always been emphasised that this walk is not a Camino like the Camino to Santiago de Compostela which is a circa 2000 year old pilgrimage along well trodden trails and a network of pilgrim places to stay.

“It is more of a challenge for long-distance walkers to navigate quite difficult terrain which quite often could mean battling through high grass, bushes and nettles and trudging and scrambling up steep and often muddy slopes depending on the weather.”

But he says that if walkers keep to a pre-arranged schedule they will arrive at excellent accommodation for the night.

Mr Corcoran has now finished his sixth EPW at the age of 78.

“It hasn’t gotten any easier and there are still problems of navigation and walking on very difficult terrains,” he explains.

“But nobody said that it would be easy.”

So far only two people have walked five of the six Peace Walks; Donal and an Australian lady from Perth.

So far only one walker has completed all six — Donal himself.

As well as the letter from the President, he was also recognised as one of the original Peacewalker pioneers from 2014 by being appointed the Irish Ambassador for the European Peace Walk, a role he says he was “honoured” to get.