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Home
Latest Posts
Useful Planning Links
Previous Caminos
    Camino Francés - May 2012
    Camino Francés - May 2013
    Camino Francés - September 2014
    Camino Francés – May 2015
    Camino Finisterre 2016
Preparation for a Camino
Weekend Watch
  • Home
  • Latest Posts
  • Useful Planning Links
  • Previous Caminos
    • Camino Francés – May 2012
    • Camino Francés – May 2013
    • Camino Francés – September 2014
    • Camino Francés – May 2015
    • Camino Finisterre 2016
  • Preparation for a Camino
  • Weekend Watch
Clearskies Camino - My times on the Camino
camino de santiago, camino inglés, caminodesantiago, clearskiescamino, ireland

Medieval Irish pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela

If you are in Dublin, take a walk from the Liberties, past the Guinness Storehouse, past Thomas Street, keep walking until you see Christchurch Cathedral standing tall in front of you.


This is the Dublin Camino and the direction medieval pilgrims walked to board their ship bound for Spain. During your same walk, keep an eye out for the symbols of the Camino…arrows, shells, place names, is anything familiar?

Medieval pilgrims would walk to Dublin Docklands, gather, before taking the arduous journey to Santiago. One place in the Docklands, called Misery Hill, is what is left of a medieval hospital run by monks to assist pilgrims bound for Santiago. And this is where this Bernadette Cunningham’s book comes in.

I have only recently started to appreciate that pilgrims from Ireland made the long dangerous journey in the middle ages. So this book has opened my eyes. It probably ranks as one of the more important books on the Camino due to the amount of research and time that has been spent. I have written a review for Shamrocks and Shells and have reprinted it below.

Dr. Bernadette Cunningham (Four Court Press)

All of us who have walked any part of the Camino in Galicia will notice that there is a medieval feel to it, but some of you may have asked, have many Irish people been here in medieval times and if so, why did they go there?

Dr. Bernadette Cunningham’s “Medieval Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela” explains that from the 12th to the 16th centuries, the promotion of the Camino de Santiago was linked with the idea of penance, repentance, and indulgences. The shrine of St. James was first promoted by Archbishop Diego Gelmírez who got papal sanction to issue indulgences to pilgrims. Santiago de Compostela became on a par with the other big Christian pilgrimage cities of Rome and Jerusalem. Pilgrims from medieval Ireland almost certainly made the pilgrimage to Santiago in jubilee years, when the feast of St James (July 25th) fell on a Sunday and special indulgences could be earned.

For a sea-going nation like Ireland, the geographical position of Santiago de Compostela was a major element of its’ attraction for pilgrims. Part of the journey from Ireland always had to be made by sea and the key to understanding how they got there is to understand the trade routes that already existed – the regular merchant ships of the day were used by pilgrims.

In the 13th century, the first ships were Anglo-Norman bringing pilgrims from the South and East of Ireland and those people would have crossed to Bristol or Plymouth and looked for a ship before heading to Spain from there. The ships used in the 13th century were those used in trading fish, hides or wine and were not very large. The main departure points were Dublin, Drogheda, New Ross, and Waterford. The book provides detailed maps showing towns scattered all over Ireland, the routes to the southern ports, and the long sea voyage that some undertook to get to Santiago, by way of the port of A Coruña.


The statue of St. James in the Church of Santiago in A Coruna. (source: https://pilgrimpace.wordpress.com/tag/santiago-peregrino/)

The first named pilgrim was Richard de Burgh from Clonmel who went to Santiago in 1320. He probably sailed first from Clonmel over to England. Once across the English Channel in France, pilgrims generally used horses for transport until arrival in Santiago. Richard de Burgh is representative of the first pilgrims to be found from Ireland – they were wealthy Anglo-Norman townsmen or bishops with strong English connections.

By the 15th century, we find evidence from other parts of Ireland, from Gaelic lordships in the North and West of Ireland, heading to Santiago. Also, by the 15th century, direct transport in bigger ships along the Bay of Biscay became the norm. For those making a direct crossing to Iberia, the port of A Coruna was normally used. In the 15th century, merchant ships travelling on this route could carry between 100 and 200 passengers.

By the 15th century, it was not unusual for elite women from Gaelic Ireland to undertake long pilgrimages. One of the best-known was the journey taken to Santiago by Margaret O Carroll in 1445. Most pilgrims returned safely, however, there were several hazards which resulted in deaths while abroad, such as, the lack of clean water and fresh food on ship and storms at sea.

A Carrack – an example of a European merchant ship from the 15th century (source: http://www.angelfire.com/ga4/guilmartin.com/chapter3.html)

In the absence of pilgrimage, the scallop shell is one of these things that will endure through almost everything. Scallop shells are turning up in archaeological excavations throughout the country and all of these are documented in this book. So, we get a snapshot of pilgrimage from Kinsale, Fermanagh, Tuam to more recently the excavations in St. Thomas’ Abbey in Dublin.

Today, the creation of the Celtic Camino from A Coruña reminds us that in middle ages, the port of A Coruña was a major point of arrival for pilgrims from Ireland and other northern European countries.

Dr. Bernadette Cunningham has produced a significant book, as it gives us a fascinating insight into how and why men and women ventured from Ireland to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Ages. A tremendous amount of research has been undertaken on the subject and this book is a must for anyone with a keen interest in the Camino de Santiago.

Bernadette Cunningham is author of Medieval Irish Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela (Four Courts Press, €17.95). A three-day conference on Ireland-Galicia links through the ages takes place in Santiago on May 9th-11th. See irishsettlement.ie

March 4, 2019by Clearskies Camino
camino de santiago

Checking in & future walks

Hello there. Just dropping in to say hi. While I don’t blame you if you don’t recognise me, my posts may be a bit more frequent now.

I haven’t been writing as often as I would like. The week goes by and before you know it, it is the weekend and I usually have plans most weekends. I long for sleep in! I might have to wait until my Camino before that, however.

I have just finished working on my side project Shamrocks and Shells for Camino Society Ireland. Let’s just say that I’m glad that it’s a quarterly ezine and not a monthly one. It takes a lot of work, but it is worth it. You can view it here.

Now to concentrate on my new Canon EOS camera, taking a few walks and me!…yes, me! Everyone needs time for themselves, don’t they?

My next walk will be on the 23rd of March when I walk from the Pro Cathedral in Dublin to Maynooth. It has recently been recognised as one of the suggested walks on the Celtic Camino, provided you can locate sellos. The Pro Cathedral and Maynooth College give them. It’s a fab walk along the Royal Canal and while you can bike it, I like to walk it. I will let you know how I get on.

9 weeks left!

March 4, 2019by Clearskies Camino
camino de santiago, camino inglés, ireland

Since Friday..

Let me apologise! The intention was to keep you updated a little bit more than this but I was busy over the weekend. Here goes…

The Camino Society held their first monthly walk of 2019 in Glencullen. There are tonnes of trails there and the Dublin Mountains Way runs through it. I won’t go into it in too much detail as I wrote a piece about it on their newsletter here. Go check it out, the photos are excellent.

Anyway, the day started well with the sun shining in Donabate. I had a good feeling about the day. I brought the rain gear ‘just in case’. However the further south I went, the darker the sky got and the first drops could be felt at Johnnie Fox’s pub, our meeting point. Not to worry. We marched on regardless.

With a full pack and thirty-something other pilgrims, it was close enough to being on Camino. It was just what I needed with my May Camino quickly approaching. After the walk, we returned to base (Johnnie Fox’s) for some food and music.

Kilmashogue megalithic wedge tomb – 4000 years old

The following day, Sunday, marked 100 days before my brother and I travel to Ferrol to start our Camino Ingles / Celtic Camino. From now on, it’s all double-digits and even though I have done this many times before, it feels new this time. Maybe because it is a new route? May 7th we leave for Ferrol and we hope to be in Santiago by May 14th. We have flights booked for May 19th which gives us room to decide to walk to Finisterre or stay in Santiago.

January 29, 2019by Clearskies Camino
caminothroughmyeyes

2018 becomes 2019…

So here we are..2019! Happy New Year! The celebrations are over, the good cutlery has been put away and we have settled down to another year. I hope you had a good few weeks. Christmas has been good in the Smith household. Strangely enough, the last time I felt this way was January 2018 and I was preparing for a Camino #1 with the brother. As we all know, those few weeks went very well and we enjoyed our time walking into Santiago de Compostela. So much so, that we are going back this May.

Celtic Camino & Camino Finisterre

May 7th – we both fly to Santiago and aim for Ferrol. From there we walk to Betanzos, on the Ferrol leg of the Camino Ingles. The following day, we take a bus to A Coruna where we will walk to Santiago. I’m looking forward to these few days between A Coruna and Bruma as it is pretty quiet. Once in Santiago, we walk to Finisterre and the end of the world. I was here last in 2016 when I witnessed the sunset. It is the true end of one’s Camino. Just 122 days to go at the time of writing.

Hercules Tower and the statue of King Breogan
B

Dabbling in Photography

Ok, to say this is a bit of a whim is an understatement. I have been thinking of taking up photography for quite some time and I have just purchased a DSLR camera (with thanks to some friends). I am waiting for it to arrive in the post but in the meantime, I have been watching “how-to” and “what-not-to-do” videos on YouTube. I chose Canon and didn’t buy too high-end. So, if I do enjoy it, I can upgrade the body or lens in the future. I will take it out on walks and see if it catches on. More from this in the near future.

One year in Donabate

Time flies when you are having fun eh? Well, I’m not sure about fun, but time is flying. I can’t believe it’s over a year since I moved into this new place. I’ve tried to make the place as homely as possible. I’ve got my compostelas hanging in my bedroom. There is a large Wise Pilgrim map hanging in my dining room and these large posters are hanging on the wall in front of the couch. I mean, I get to look at these every day! It’s great. I also have a large collection of fridge magnets with a Camino theme. So I’m quite happy with how it’s going. Just for the time being, that is.

Possible 2nd Camino for 2019?

I’m keeping my options open for a 2nd return to Spain in September. It will either be the Portuguese Coastal Route or the short snippet of the Via de la Plata. Nothing is set in stone yet. Updates will follow.

January 5, 2019by Clearskies Camino
camino de santiago, caminothroughmyeyes, spain, walk, YourStoryYourCamino

Have you written about the Camino de Santiago?

Have you walked the Camino Frances or any other Camino? Have you written or created a video of it?

If so, please feel free to share.

You can either post your link in the comments below or email me at clearskiescamino@gmail.com.

To see my current links, click here.

Buen Camino!

November 25, 2018by Clearskies Camino
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About me

Hello, my name is David. I am a peregrino living in Dublin, Ireland. I have visited Spain and Portugal and walked its many roads to Santiago since 2011. On this site, you will find my stories, photos, and observations from my Caminos and my planning for future Caminos. Feel free to get in touch with me here

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2018 astorga belorado blogging caminodesantiago camino de santiago camino francés caminoinglés caminomemories caminoportugués caminosocietyireland celticcamino clearskiescamino dontstopwalking dublin galicia ireland irishpilgrims justbe keepwalking kit life lisbon news peregrino photos pilgrim pilgrimage planning portugal preparation santiago sarria spain trails travel video vlog walk walking weekend weekendwatch weekend watch wordpress youtube

Categories

Latest Posts

  • Ideal viewing – Webinars for Planning your Camino!
  • Weekend Watch #78 – Patrick Rock, a pilgrim from Ireland
  • Hello everyone, a quick update.
  • Summer is coming soon…
  • Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Santo!
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