Wonderful Blackwater wanderer

ANY person who walks the length of the Munster Blackwater deserves an accolade, writes Donal Hickey

Traversing its 167km from Ballydesmond, on the Cork/Kerry border, to the point where it enters the Celtic Sea, at Youghal, is a stern test which involves overcoming natural and man-made obstacles of bogland, water, bramble, wood, fences and drains.

Retired teacher Jim O’Malley completed the odyssey in seven days and had a few scars to prove it. Along the way, he met farmers, anglers, workmen, shopkeepers, and B&B owners, all of whom him provided him with insights about the storied river and the people living on its banks.