Camino crew set their sights on epic voyage to Morocco

HAVING succeeded in their quest to row a naomhóg from Ireland to Santiago de Compostella in the Basque Country, the crew of the Naomh Gobnait/Naomhóig na Tinte will be back on the water next week, rowing south from Spain to Morocco on a voyage never before undertaken in a naomhóg.

“We’re in great shape and raring to go,” said crew member Domhnall Mac Síthigh whose only training has been walking the hills of West Kerry over the winter. “We’ve done no rowing at all since last year but we’ll get back into that straight away – there’ll be a few blisters for the first few days, but you wouldn’t mind that”.

Domhnall, a ‘writer and a bit of a farmer’ from Baile Eaglaise, along with ‘musician and champion oarsman’ Breandán Ó Beaglaoich from Baile na bPoc, ‘stonemason, fisherman and philosopher’ Breandán Ó Muircheartaigh from Baile an Lochaigh and artist/ naomhóg maker Liam Holden began their camino in 2014, rowing over the course of three summers from Dublin to La Coruna in Northern Spain. From there the Naomh Gobnait was brought overland to Santiago de Compostella where the pilgrims - who at that stage included musician Glen Hansard - were honoured at a High Mass in the cathedral in June of last year.

Their camino complete and their naomhóg in safe keeping in Santiago de Compostella, the crew might well have rested on their laurels but the pull of the sea was too great. And so, over the course of the next two or three summers they will row down the coast of Spain and Portugal, crossing the Straits of Gibralter to Morocco.

Liam Holden won’t be going on this voyage, and he’ll be greatly missed, but his place is being taken by Pádraig Ua Duinnín, naomhóg maker, ‘film maker and fánaí from Magh Chromhtha’, along with several others, including musician Liam Ó Maonlaí and Irish Times journalist Lorna Siggins who are falling in for a few days or a week on the oars

“On Tuesday morning 30 May we will set sail again to round the north western peninsula of Galicia. This coastline is aptly named, ‘The Sea of Death’. We ask all our friends to light candles and say prayers for us that we keep our courage and application,” said Domhnall.

The goal for this year is to reach Porto in Portugal, rowing by day and “camping in small coastal towns, in noisy cities and by sheltered coves along the coast”.

Friends, relatives and supporters are welcome to meet the crew at any point along the way and the whole voyage is to be made into a film documentary by Dónal Ó Céilleachair (see https://igg.me/at/caminobysea/x)