A salute to the man who made Ireland's first long-distance walking trail

The 130-kilometre Wicklow Way came about thanks to the hard work and vision of JB Malone 

JB Malone monument. Wicklow Way. Picture: John G O'Dwyer

Recently, a friend presented me with a well-thumbed copy of a book printed in 1964. Titled Walking in Wicklow, it represents one of Ireland’s earliest walking guides. Published by Helicon, Dublin and written by one JB Malone, it is by today’s standards a simple guidebook. There are no photographs, the maps are minimalist and there are no route summaries. There is, however, an index and a series of illustrations by 19th-century cartographer and artist George du Noyer.

The book’s author, John James Bernard Malone, was born in Leeds to Irish parents in 1913. At this time, hillwalking had become a popular pastime for the recently emerged class of urban industrial workers in the English Midlands. It was seen as important enough to spark a mass trespass of disenchanted walkers on Kinder Scout in the Peak District when the Duke of Devonshire denied recreational access to this mountain.