Journey man: Widower takes on trek challenges to ward off depression

Dermot Breen set off on a gruelling 1,000km walk along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain in May 2016 as part of his journey to come to terms with the death of his wife Jacqui in January 2015 – just 10 months after a shock cancer diagnosis.

It was the second such walk he has completed and then written about since his wife’s death at 54 from ovarian cancer. His first book, ‘The Edge: Walking the Ulster Way with my Angels and Demons’, recounted the story of his first long-distance walk in memory of his wife in 2015.

Dermot, who is originally from Omagh, met Jacqui, who is from Ballycastle, at Queen’s University. The pair married and made Belfast their home, bringing two children into the world.

Dermot said: “I’m thankful for the wonderful life we did have together. It was obviously cut short tragically, but I’ve lots of happy memories to look back on.”

After a career in occupational health and safety spanning over 30 years, Dermot took early retirement in 2016 following Jacqui’s death to devote his time to walking, writing and fundraising.

The 57-year-old has also undertaken a number of other fundraising initiatives over the last three years and has to date raised over £32,000 for research into the cruel disease that claimed his wife of 28 years.

He revealed that walking and writing has helped him ward off the ravages of depression: “You do eventually get over the rawness of the grief. It certainly took me a good two years or more to get over that rawness. But, even then, you’re left with an emptiness and sadness that you carry around with you all the time.”

He continued: “You do learn to cope with it. In the book I say that time is not a great healer. It’s just a great leveller. You just come to accept it more. It doesn’t make the loss go away, but you learn to cope with it better.”

Of his latest book he said: “It not only covers the physical journey through Spain, but also describes the emotional journey and how I came to find the sanctuary I was searching for, but not in a way I had ever anticipated. There is quite a revelation at the end of the book that I hope will both surprise and delight readers.”

Dermot was joined on the Camino by his son Matthew, 27, and daughter Hannah, 24, who walked with him for a few days. The 1,000km trek took him eight weeks to complete, “although I took a few days off here and there to recharge the batteries when necessary”, he said.

Of his new found passion for walking he said: “I wouldn’t say I hated it but it wasn’t my favourite activity. I would have run a lot and played a lot of sports – to me, walking always seemed a bit slow. I have found my walking legs now and have come to enjoy it.

“I’ve found it very therapeutic, just having that time to yourself to reflect and think and also you meet some very interesting people along the way.”

• Dermot’s new book ‘The Man with the Camino Tattoo’ costs £12 from Shanway Press or via Amazon. All revenue will be donated to Cancer Research UK.