Walk on ... Dermot's epic 620-mile trek in memory of late wife

Dermot Breen, whose much-loved wife Jacqui lost her battle with ovarian cancer in January 2015, is tackling the rugged Ireland Way, which stretches from Castletownbere on the Beara Peninsula in Co Cork to Ballycastle on the north Antrim coast – a place that holds very special significance for Dermot.

The retired civil servant, who has previously taken on two other long distance walks in memory of Jacqui, set off on his gruelling journey on Wednesday and says it will take him five to six weeks to complete the route.

In 2015, Dermot walked the entire Ulster Way and in 2016 he walked the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. In 2017, he took a break from long distance walking to concentrate on writing and has since had two books published charting his physical and emotional journeys since he lost his beloved wife of 28 years.

As he prepared to set off on his latest venture, which will see him covering up to 20 miles per day, Dermot said: “I thought that I had perhaps finished with my long distance walking, but when I learned that the Ireland Way finished in Ballycastle, I just felt compelled to get my walking boots on once again.

“Ballycastle is where Jacqui was brought up and her remains now rest in Ramoan Parish Church at the top of the town. Ballycastle is therefore a very special place for me and it will be highly fitting, and perhaps a little emotional, to end my latest walk there.

“The timing of my walk is also highly significant in that I aim to reach Ballycastle by August 1, which is the date on which Jacqui and I were married 31 years ago. It might sound a little melodramatic, but it just seems to me that I was destined to do this walk.”

Dermot’s trek will take him from Castletownbere, through the centre of Ireland, through places like Tipperary, Ballinasloe and Leitrim, before joining the Ulster Way at Belcoo in Co Fermanagh. From there the route follows the Ulster Way trail through Belleek, Omagh, Dungiven and Castlerock and then hugs the Causeway Coastal route all the way to Ballycastle.

Dermot hopes to raise £7,500 for Cancer Research UK through his latest walk, which will push his fundraising total since 2015 to £40,000.

People can support him by donating online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/1000k4j or by purchasing one of his books – ‘The Edge: Walking the Ulster Way with My Angels and Demons’ or ‘The Man with the Camino Tattoo’ – from Shanway Press or via Amazon, as he donates all sales revenue to the charity.