Last of the Donkey Pilgrims

Front Cover
Macmillan, 2005 - Biography & Autobiography - 432 pages

Kevin O'Hara's journey of self-discovery begins as a mad lark: who in their right mind would try to circle the entire coastline of Ireland on foot—and with a donkey and cart no less?

But Kevin had promised his homesick Irish mother that he would explore the whole of the Old Country and bring back the sights and the stories to their home in Massachusetts. Determined to reach his grandmother's village by Christmas Eve, Kevin and his stubborn but endearing donkey, Missie, set off on 1800-mile trek along the entire jagged coast of a divided Ireland.

Their rollicking adventure takes them over mountains and dales, through smoky cities and sleepy villages, and into the farmhouses and hearts of Ireland's greatest resource—its people.

Along the way, Kevin would meet incredible characters, experience Ireland in all of its glory, and explore not only his Irish past, but find his future self.

“One of the finest books about contemporary Ireland ever written...In a style evocative of Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, O'Hara writes memorably of his most unusual way of touring his ancestral home of Ireland.” —Library Journal

 

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
11
INTRODUCTION
13
The Donkey Proposal
19
Talk of the Parish
25
Jimmy Mac the Horseman
31
Missie and the Fleetwood
35
The Apprenticeship
40
The Kilteevan Report
46
The Cock and Hen
217
Going Widdershins
226
A Green Martyr
234
Brother Malachy of Mount Argus
241
Approaching the Dragon
247
The Kingdom of Mourne
253
Ship on the Sea
258
Nursery of Blackguards
264

A Birthday Visit to Knock
52
The Commencement
57
A Gift of Hazel
62
ΙΟ Old Coach Road to Galway
68
The Hollow Bright Fog
73
A Worldly Man Indeed
81
Joe McHughs Pub
87
The Grass Widow and Bottle Scrubber
93
Old Country Cures
99
Crossing the Shannon
103
A Breather in Ballybunion
110
Dead Cut of a Weasel
118
On the Dingle
123
Up the Conor Pass
129
Celtic Starlight
133
A Soupers Kitchen
142
A Night with the Travelers
148
A Rock Soars from the Sea
154
FaeryWaxed in Ballybrack
161
The Memory Stone
167
The Road to Kilmakilloge
174
Lord Tim of the Holly
180
A Wasps Dying Sting
186
A Run to Mizen Head
192
Wood of the Pilgrims
198
Over the River Blackwater
204
Washerwoman from Tramore
211
Knock Sunday in Belfast
269
The Glens of Antrim
277
Faery Kingdom of Dalriada
284
Gandies Goats
293
A Celebrity in Derry
300
The Questions of Children
307
Close Call at The Beach
315
Mary Hannas Pub
321
All Hallows Eve
325
Missies March to Drumnacart
331
Glengesh Pass
336
Glen of the Saint to Aerie of the Bishop
342
A Walk to Ballyshannon
349
Beneath Maeves Crown
356
Between Shamrock and Harp
364
Mary Clearys Pub
373
From Achill to Clare Island
381
Hazel to Holly
388
Rounding Roundstone
395
Lamplight to Streetlights
402
A Bonfire in Ballygar
410
A Proper Pair of Pilgrims
416
A Christmas Ceili
419
Fingerpost to Ballagh
425
Epilogue
427
Copyright

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About the author (2005)

Kevin O’Hara is the author of Last of the Donkey Pilgrims, an autobiographic telling of his travels around the coastland of Ireland with his beloved donkey Missy. He also wrote a memoir—A Lucky Irish Lad—detailing his experience growing up as an Irish-American in the shadow of the Second World War. A psychiatric nurse for more than 25 years, O'Hara still resides in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the place to which his parents emigrated.

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