Bishopstown Hillwalking Club recently made a donation of €500 to SEMRA, the South-East Mountain Rescue Association during a club walk to Kilbarry Wood near Fermoy. The photo above shows Sean Cotter of BHC presenting the money to Maureen O'Brien of SEMRA.
SEMRA provides emergency cover for walkers, hillwalkers, hikers and tourists on the mountains in the South East of the country. They cover areas such as the Comeraghs, Knockmealdowns, Galtees, Blackstairs and the Slieve Blooms.
More information can be obtained about SEMRA on their website... http://www.semra.ie/

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BHC have recently opened an account on the Flickr photo album website. We have already moved all of the photos from this website to it. In addition, we have added in excess of 200 extra photos.

There are currently 19 sets of photos. An index of these sets can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8799006@N03/sets/

Photos have also been put up for 2 recents walks Seven Heads Walk on the 10th of June and  Comeragh Walk on the 24th of June

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Harveys in the UK has just released a new 1:30,000 map of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks area. The map is based on a 2006 survey. In addition, it is supposed to have 1:15,000 coverage of some of the areas around Carrauntoohil. It should be available in most local hillwalking stores.

BHC make €1,000 donation to SEMRA - Bishopstown Hillwalking Club recently handed over a cheque for €1,000 to Michael Power of SEMRA, the South-Eastern Mountain Rescue Association. SEMRA is a voluntary group and provides emergency cover for anyone in difficulty on the mountains in the South-East of Ireland. They cover a large area, from the Blackstairs Mountains on the Carlow / Wexford border, the Comeragh, Knockmealdowns and Galtees in Waterford and Tipperary and up to the Slieve Blooms in the Midlands. The presentation of the cheque was made during a recent BHC hillwalk in the Knockmealdown mountains. The above photo shows from left to right, Paddy Gallagher (Walk leader BHC), Michael Power (SEMRA) and Michael Carey (Walk leader BHC).

One of our members has recently purchased OSI Trailmaster South and has provided the following comments : 1. The South DVD does not include the Galtees, Knockmealdowns, or the Comeraghs. 2. The program at present does not transfer data accurately to either the Magellan or the Garmin GPSs. e.g a Carrauntoohil route would be shown in the North sea on the Magellan or in the Sothern hemisphere on a Garmin - OSI have been promising a patch to the program since September. 3. The waymark data written in the waymark report by the program is inaccurate and does not reflect the accuracy of the waymark positions in the program. Again a patch is promised by OSI. It is possible to use a ''work around'' to transfer to/from a GPS by using Gartrip or other GPS software to interface with a GPS and then saving the file in GPX format. This format can be used accurately by Trail Master to import/export files from/to a disk file. So the basic advice seems to be that if you plan to interface your GPS to Trailmaster, you might be better off waiting until all the bugs are fixed. If however, you don't plan to directly interface it with a GPS and you don't have the OSI Discovery maps already, then Trailmaster looks like reasonable value at €99. Update : July 2006 - The OSI issued a patch which seems to have corrected the errors in the waypoint report. You still have to export the trail as a route file and reimport it to get the waypoints listed if you did not originally individually number them. You can successfully send a trail to the Magellan GPS from Trailmaster though the problem with reading from the GPS still exists i.e degrees west are always treated by Trailmaster as degrees East. There seems to be also a problem interfacing with the newer Garmins....info from Paddy Gallagher of BHC. For more information on Trailmaster, look further down this page.

New development at Cronin's Yard and in access to Carrauntoohil

Warning message from the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team - "ESSENTIAL SAFETY INFORMATION FOR CARRAUNTOOHIL - KMRT would like to alert all walkers to an extremely dangerous situation which exists on Carrauntoohil at present. As many people know, the summit is surrounded on three sides by very steep ground, and has always required careful navigation to locate the correct route in descent, particularly in poor weather. This situation has been exacerbated in recent times by the fact that a visible ‘false’ track has now developed leading from the summit directly towards dangerous ground.
Walkers should exercise extreme caution when navigating from the summit, particularly when visibility is poor. It should be noted that there are NO safe descent routes anywhere to the N, NE, E or SE of the summit. All parties should carry a map and compass and should include at least one competent navigator (ie. capable of consistent accurate navigation in darkness or white-out conditions) as part of the group.
If you are planning to go walking or climbing over the Christmas period, be particularly aware that days are short, conditions underfoot will be very slippery with either ice or water, and your margins for error are significantly reduced. Ensure that you are adequately equipped, are only attempting something within your ability and experience level, and that weather conditions on the day are suitable. If you are in any doubt it is probably best to leave it until the summer.
As always, in case of emergency in any mountainous area in Ireland dial 999 or 112 and ask for Mountain Rescue."..............from the KMRT Website.

Italian politician proposes restoration of ancient pilgrimage route

"Italian leader Romano Prodi says he hopes to revive the medieval route that took Christian pilgrims from Canterbury to Rome. The Via Francigena from Britain to Italy dates back to the 10th Century. He said he would like to see the Italian routes used by pilgrims on foot, bicycle or horse. The 1,200-mile (1,944 km) Via Francigena, or Way of the Franks, was founded after the 10th-Century Archbishop of Canterbury, Sigeric, documented his journey to see the Pope - leaving Canterbury and crossing France, Switzerland and Italy to Rome. His writings give a detailed account of his route, which became a key path to one of the three important pilgrimage centres of the day - the other two being Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Spain's Camino de Santiago, or Way of St James, from southern France to Santiago de Compostela, still attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists each year. Interest in the Via Francigena has increased since it was designated a cultural route by the Council of Europe in 1994."............from the BBC News Web site

The local Mountain Rescue Team South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association (SEMRA) seeks new  members to start their training in early 2006. We seek mountaineers or hillwalkers from the South East who have experience in bad weather conditions and who also have time to commit to training and  Callouts. The average number of Callouts per year is 15. Training will be provided in all aspects of Mountain Rescue and takes approximately a year to complete. On successful completion of the training, trainee members become full members and are put on the Callout List. The Team is a 24 hr./day, 365 day/year voluntary "999" emergency service and is responsible for search & rescue in the mountainous areas of the south-east of Ireland (Galtee, Comeragh, Knockmealdown and Blackstairs mountain ranges) Members are drawn from across the South East from Wexford right over to Limerick and Mitchelstown. The Team was formed in 1977 after a plane crash in the Galtee Mountains and is 1 of 12 Teams in the country, members of the Irish Mountain Rescue Association (IMRA).www.mountainrescue.ie If interested in getting more details and an application form please contact John Foley 087 283 7581 Trainee Laision  John Coffey 086 829 4382 Training Officer

New mapping product from the Ordnance Survey of Ireland - Update
The Ordnance Survey of Ireland have announced that they have launched a new  DVD based  mapping  product. They describe it as follows....."OSi Trail Master is a DVD based PC compatible interactive mapping tool for the outdoor enthuasist. "
It will have the following features...

Create, print, store and share routes using OSi 1:450,000 and 1:50,000 maps, aerial photography and Digital Terrain Models.
View 3D landscapes and fly-through's using OSi mapping and aerial photographs.
Import and export route coordinates, waypoints and marks to a GPS device.
Export routes, maps and aerial photography to a Pocket PC device.
A search and locate tool which uses over 1,800 place and summit names.
Support for multiplle co-ordinates systems, including Irish Grid, ITM and Latitude/Longtitude.
Dynamic legends and scale bars.
Measurement tools.
Synchronising multiple windows which allow users to simultaneously view an area of interest with different mapping or aerial photography backgrounds.
Create Route Profiles, add notes / pictures to routes and much more!

Recommended Retail Price is 99 Euro.

Some screenshots from the product are shown below...... 

Charity Swim - Hillwalkers Swim for Laxmi. The fund,set up by a group of Cork Hillwalkers, to help build a house for
an unfortunate Nepali child, stricken with Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy was boosted recently by a novel Fundraiser.
Readers will remember Laxmi and how the walkers adopted the family. A target of 20,000Euro was set to build a house in Kathmandu, for the family of Laxmi and her parents.
Marie Foster Scannell proposed the Galtee Lakes Swim as her contribution to the Fundraising.  A set of Four novelty swimsuits were fashioned by Marie to be used in each of the four Galtee lakes. The suits were  The Polka Dot Bikinni, The Beakie, The Swan Lake ensemble and her finale The Mermaid The preparation of the suits brought its own problem but Marie is Marie and all was in order for Sunday August 21st, except a little item called Weather.  Hillwalkers are tough and weather is only to be contended with so the large group assembled at Clydagh Bridge and walked to Lake Curra high in the bosom of Galtee Mor.
Ellie Mc Donald led the Bishopstown walkers to the lake and Marie duly donned firstly her Bikinni followed by the Beakie then the Swan Lake and finally the Mermaid.  Marie assured the onlookers that the water was beautiful but the group preferred the elements to the choppy lake waters, so Marie was left as she deserved ,Solo.
Pakie Fitzes, in Mitchelstown, was the next venue where the flagging spirits were revitalised by injections of food and liquids .
A raffle of a Dinner for Two, kindly donated by the Kingsley Hotel management, was a highlight and when the ticket of Phil Twomey, present at the time, was drawn out of the hat celebrations reached crescendo.
The event boosted the fund by nearly 2,000 Euro thanks to the sposorship of many friends of the walkers. A timely boost in the wake of the purchase of the site for Laxmi,s house.
Marie deserves the thanks of the organisers for her trojan work and her braving of the elements at the Galtee Lakes.  A great day was had by all.
Laxmi will be pleased.
Thank you Marie and Bishopstown Hillwalkers.

New Walking Proposals from the Irish Farmers Association -
"IFA President John Dillon has said that a real opportunity exists to resolve the difficulties surrounding recreational use of the countryside through the implementation of a new and innovative scheme to promote managed walkways. Mr. Dillon was speaking at the launch of an IFA initiative for a Countryside Walkways Management Scheme, the aim of which is to enhance the tourism potential of rural regions and to boost their economic development. "The scheme will ensure that farmers and landowners can play an important role in realising the natural assets of the countryside through agreed walks in a new Countryside Management Scheme". The IFA President noted that there has been a decline in walking tourism over the last number of years. "This trend can be reversed through a scheme that would initially cost around €6m, but which would increase over time to involve 5,000 farmers at a cost of €15m. Up to 2,000 km of walks could be created, which is equivalent to three times the distance from Malin Head to Mizen Head". Mr Dillon said the Countryside Management Scheme was the result of widespread consultation within IFA and would involve both annual and capital payments to cover ongoing costs where investment was required to create walks. "It is important that the Government through local authority insurance funds fully indemnifies landowners against any claims from people using these walks". Mr Dillon welcomed the support of the Mountaineering Council of Ireland for the IFA initiative. A representative from the Mountaineering Council attended today's launch. Mr Dillon called on the Government to support this incentive which encourages managed use of the countryside while at the same time protecting the legitimate interests and the rights of landowners.".................from the IFA Web Site

"The Irish Farmers' Association has issued proposals which it hopes will bring an end to the long-running confrontation over the use of farmland by recreational walkers. IFA leader John Dillon said the initiative encourages managed use of the countryside as well as protecting the rights of landowners. The Mountaineering Council has welcomed the proposals.
For several years many farmers have been reluctant to allow leisure walkers onto their property. The IFA today unveiled a list of proposals to help bring an end to the difficulty. It is proposing a Countryside Walkways Management Scheme to help boost the tourism potential of rural areas.
The association wants to reverse the decline in walking tourism by involving up to 5,000 farmers in creating 2,000km of walks all over the country. The IFA is hoping that the Government will provide the €6 million needed to launch the initiative.
It also wants local authorities to indemnify landowners against any insurance claims involving walkers on their property.
It is proposed that Fáilte Ireland would operate the scheme. Farmers would get an annual payment of €1,000 plus €5 per metre, and the scheme would eventually cost about €15 million annually.
It is thought it will take several months before all parties agree on a deal"..................from the RTE News Web Site

Comment on the IFA proposal by the Mountaineering Council of Ireland...

"The Countryside Walkways Initiative, announced by the IFA on 27^th July, is not just another “money for access” proposal as some media coverage has suggested. In exchange for an annual payment, participating farmers would carry out annual maintenance and (though this is not quite clear) bear at least part of the capital cost of creating a route. This is a break-through and is the reason for the MCI’s guarded welcome for the proposal.
The IFA proposal is to set up a Countryside Walkways Management Scheme. The scheme would be administered by Failte Ireland who would co-ordinate the creation of a network of new walkways through local development associations. The proposal could involve 5,000 landowners in developing and maintaining up to 2,000km of linear and looped walks. It is proposed that this would initially be a 5-year scheme. The proposal also assumes that private landowners will be indemnified against claims, as is standard on the National Network of Waymarked Ways.
The payments suggested (€1,000 per farm plus €5 per metre of walkway) are undeniably very high; but no doubt the IFA is expecting to have to haggle. To ensure wide distribution of funds it might be necessary to cap the amount that an individual landowner could draw down. The MCI believes that any walkways developed under the proposed scheme should be approved by the National Waymarked Ways Advisory Committee. The scheme may not deliver all that many new walks, as farmers who currently have waymarked routes across their land could apply for this scheme on the basis of doing maintenance work which is currently carried out by local authorities or local committees.
The proposal is only concerned with the provision of waymarked walks. This would probably satisfy Fáilte Ireland’s desire to provide walks for tourists, and meet the needs of the many Irish people who want to walk for a few hours on paths. The proposal doesn’t provide access for the majority of MCI members, who want access paths from the road to the open hillside, but presumably the scheme could be tailored to include such paths. The proposal makes reference to commonage; the administration of such a scheme on commonage is sure to be tedious and complex. Aside from that, there would be safety issues with the creation of waymarked walks on high, open ground.
There are many others recreational users for whom the proposal does nothing – rock-climbers, birdwatchers, mountain bikers, fishermen, canoeists, and hang-gliders, in fact anyone who wants to get countryside access where there isn’t a trail, which means everywhere that isn’t considered popular enough to justify the expenditure on a trail.
This is a long list of objections, nevertheless the MCI congratulates the IFA for producing the first positive solution to current access problems by a landowner’s organisation.
It will take much argument in Comhairle na Tuaithe and elsewhere before a version of this proposal which is acceptable to all parties is achieved, but we now have a basis on which to start the discussion. It is essential that these discussions take into consideration the needs of all countryside users, not just walkers.MCI, 4/8/05."..........from the MCI Website

7th June 2005

New Map for Brandon - The Ordance Survey of Ireland have recently published a new 1:25,000 map of the area around Mount Brandon in the Dingle peninsula in Kerry. Last year, the OSI published a 1:25,000 map of the Macgillycuddy Reeks in Kerry. Note that these maps are at twice the scale of the more usual 'Discovery' maps which are 1:50,000

 
9th April 2005

Teach Laxmi. On behalf of the committee of teach Laxmi I wish to thank all those who helped out and took part in the recent Quiz night. In particular the quiz Master Billy Joyce, Mick Muphy and Theresa and Kate who prepared the questions. Helen and her team of scrutineers and all who helped on the night. The number of prizes for the raffle was most impressive and a
special word of thanks to all who donated same. We brought in over eur 1600 euro and the total is now well on track to reach our objective. If there is any money out there collected for the walk or if you intended to make a donation and never got round to it then send it in now and be part of this worthy and successful venture. Thank you again, Noel Power. Chairperson.

Teach Laxmi Fundraiser. "The organisers wish to thank all who contributed to the success of last week-end's fundraiser.
Both walks were a great success and the craic in the Abbey was mighty. All who took part ,  Liam, Gabrielle, Cato and Louis and the choir warmed the hearts of their listeners.  Hopefully Liam was in equally good voice on Thursday night.
The organisers are now anxious to have the sponsorship cards and any monies, returned as soon as possible. Best to lodge the money directly to Teach Fundraising, AIB Bank Killarney A/C no..31893054 Sort code 93 63 32.
Lodgement can be made at any AIB branch.  Please put your name in narrative section and add the word" card."  Helen, Billy and Noel will be glad to collect from people who prefer the personal touch.We need the cards returned even if blank"....Billy.

Check out our web site:- http://homepage.eircom.net/~bishopstownohc/laxmi.html "

Slide Show and Talk raises over €1,800- "I would like to thank very much the great support given to our slide show on our recent Trek in Nepal and particularly the great support for our collection for providing a house for Laxmi a Nepali child with Cerebral Palsy. The collection taken up came to eur 1,835 which was fantastic and this brings the total collected to date very close to eur 5000. This is 25% of out target and it is very heartening to us at this early stage.
Contributions from any members who didn't get around to it yet should be lodged to account Teach Fund raising, AIB, 25 main street Killarney account number 31893054 and sort code 93 63 32. Or send a cheque payable to teach fund raising to me or any committee member.
We are having a charity walk for all on Easter Sunday. I will lead a B walk to Carrauntoohill while Billy Joyce and Helen Smith will lead a C walk in the Cappagh Glen. Sponsorship cards are available. We have also organized a table Quiz for Highfield Rugby Club for Friday April 15. Thanks again for your great support for our worthy cause. .......Regard's, Noel Power."

Find out more about this worthy cause by going to this web page - http://homepage.eircom.net/~bishopstownohc/laxmi.html

Black Valley mobile phone coverage - "How to provide a mobile phone service in the remote Black Valley, deep in the Kerry moutains, is a problem facing residents. The spectacular valley only got electricity in the late Seventies, after a long campaign. Now, the problem is with mobile phone reception. Kerry County Council is making requests to mobile phone operators to ensure the valley people get a service. Cllr Danny Healy-Rae said that as well as assiting people in the valley, a proper service would also benefit climbers that get into trouble"............from the Cork Evening Echo.

SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT - "The Supreme Court delivered its decision this morning (Friday 21st January 2005) on the Rosnowlagh cliff fall case and we're (MCI) relieved to report that the High Court judgment of February 2002 was set aside. This should ease landowners' concerns about being liable should recreational users be injured while on their property. A news release was issued this afternoon by the MCI (available on www.mountaineering.ie).

Supreme Court judgment on cliff fall case The Mountaineering Council of Ireland (MCI) notes today’s Supreme Court judgment in the Rosnowlagh cliff fall case. On this basis the occupiers of land are entitled to assume that persons engaged in outdoor activities have a “common sense” knowledge of the associated dangers and risks and will take appropriate measures for their own safety. It has always been the MCI’s policy that participants in outdoor recreation should accept the risks inherent in these activities and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.

This judgment should be a huge relief to the farming community and other landowners who have expressed concern about their potential liability for injuries sustained by recreational users on their property. This concern has been stifling the Irish tourism industry and contributing to restrictions on the ability of Irish people to pursue healthy outdoor recreation. We now look forward to working with the other members of Comhairle na Tuaithe to embrace the potential of countryside recreation in
Ireland, to the benefit of the whole population and visitors to this country.".......from the Mountaineering Council of Ireland.

8th Jan 2005 -

Missing hill walker is found safe and well - "16 December. The Limerick woman who was missing in the Galtee Mountains overnight has been found alive and well after 18 hours. Mother-of-three Rita Hickey from Oola in the west of the county went missing yesterday afternoon when she was walking in the mountains with a male companion. He raised the alarm and searches for her went on overnight and this morning. At around 11am Rita was found in a wooded area on the Mitchelstown side of the Galtee Mountains, several miles from where she went missing. Rita had sheltered there overnight before she was found by an elderly man who knows the area well. She was said to have been cold, wet and tired when found but not seriously injured. Mountain and cliff rescue teams as well as Civil Defence Units, gardaí and a coastguard helicopter took part in the search."....................from the RTE News Web site

Women survives night in the Galtees -"Miracle women Rita Hickey said yesterday she survived a night lost in the Galtee Mountains with the help of a prayer, and a Mars bar. Rita, 46, from Oola, Co.Limerick, was rescued after she stumbled out of dense forestry near Mitchelstown. Rita, who runs a betting shop in Oola, slept under a tree after walking for five hours in total darkness. Hundreds of civil defense and army personnel and mountain rescue teams joined Gardai and locals in a night long search. She and fellow Galtee Walking Club member, Danny Bailey from Tipperary, were on Galtee Mor when they got seperated. She recalled "It was going on for five o'clock and getting dark. Danny was ahead of me and he kept saying to me 'Rita, hurry on, hurry on'. I kept telling him that I was well able to keep up with him and told him to carry on. We were between two lakes at the time and he disappeared. I kept shouting 'Danny, Danny'. There was no reply."
It was now dark, and Rita did not know where she was on the mountain. "I sat down on a rock and said to myself "either stay here and freeze or keep walking." I kept walking for hours and hours in total darkness through very rough mountainside. I had to cross through gullies and at one stage I had to go accross a flooded stream. After about 5 hours I got down into a forest and went to sleep under a tree for about two hours and woke up at around 5:30 am."
Rita said she saw helicopters hovering over the forest but was unable to catch their attention. After dawn, she trekked through the forest, eventually finding a main road near Mitchelstown at around 10:30 am yesterday. "A local man, Joe Boyle, pulled up in his car and brought me to Tipperary" said Rita.".............................from the Irish Examiner newspaper.
 

New Reeks Map - The Ordance Survey of Ireland have recently published a new 1:25,000 map of the Macgillycuddy Reeks in Kerry. It can be bought directly online from  their web site or in any good hillwalking store.

17th Dec 2004

New Kerry Mountain Rescue Headquaters -"We are delighted to announce that Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue will officially open the new KMRT headquarters on September 9th. The new HQ represents one of our most ambitious projects to date, and involved the extention of our main equipment store at Killarney Garda Station to include garage facilities, office space, an extended equipment storage area, equipment washing area and toilet facilities.
This facility represents a working partnership between the State (in the form of the Department of Justice, who kindly made land available within the grounds of Killarney Garda Station) working closely with a voluntary organisation.
The new facility will serve as the Team's HQ for many years to come and is a major step forward for the Team." - Source - KMRT Web Site 

20th December 2003 -

Fundraising Quiz for Mountain Rescue Teams - On Friday, the 7th of November, Bishopstown Hillwalking Club held a Table Quiz Night to raise funds for the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team and other Rescue Teams.
A very special thanks to Mick Murphy for again organising a very successful quiz night to raise funds for the Kerry Mountain Rescue Association. Thanks to our MC Billy, DJ John, and the team of Helen, Kate, Theresa, Karen, Liam, Michael and others.
Thanks to all who supplied sponsorship prizes.
Thanks to our main sponsors as follows for the Quiz night
MAHERS SPORTS
UNION CHANDLERY / HILLWALKERS
THE GREAT OUTDOODS
TENTS & LEISURE
KATE KEARNEY'S COTTAGE (Mary Coffey)

Raised on the night was just over  €2,000.
This added to the €2,500 from the swim, and the €1,000 from BHC gives a grand total of over  €5,500 for the year 2003 for KMRA.
Another  €500 from BHC will be given to the South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association for the year 2003.

Funds raised by BHC in previous years are as follows : 1998 - £634.87, 1999 - £1,015.79, 2000 - £1,650.66, 2001 - £2,745.80, 2002 - €3,602.15 (plus €500 to South East Mountain Rescue Association)

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