Last of the Donkey Pilgrims

A Man's Journey Through Ireland

Kevin O'Hara

• Publisher: Forge Books
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9780765309839
• eBook ISBN: 9781429931502
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

A newly-wed American Vietnam vet goes on a journey of self-discovery, circling Ireland's coastline on foot with a donkey and cart in this memoir.
Kevin O'Hara's journey begins as a mad lark: who in their right mind would try to circle the entire coastline of Ireland on foot—and with a donkey and cart no less?
But Kevin had promised his homesick Irish mother that he would explore the whole of the Old Country and bring back the sights and the stories to their home in Massachusetts. Determined to reach his grandmother's village by Christmas Eve, Kevin and his stubborn but endearing donkey, Missie, set off on 1800-mile trek along the entire jagged coast of a divided Ireland.
Their rollicking adventure takes them over mountains and dales, through smoky cities and sleepy villages, and into the farmhouses and hearts of Ireland's greatest resource—its people.
Along the way, Kevin would meet incredible characters, experience Ireland in all of its glory, and explore not only his Irish past, but find his future self.
"One of the finest books about contemporary Ireland ever written . . . In a style evocative of Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, O'Hara writes memorably of his most unusual way of touring his ancestral home of Ireland." — Library Journal
"It took newcomer O'Hara 25 years to compose this poke at Ireland's edge, time for the events to become burnished. His writing is all the better for it; like the Irish fog, it's both glowing and lightly pushed by an unacknowledged melancholy." — Kirkus Reviews

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Notice
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• CHAPTER ONE - The Donkey Proposal
• CHAPTER TWO - Talk of the Parish
• CHAPTER THREE - Jimmy Mac, the Horseman
• CHAPTER FOUR - Missie and the Fleetwood
• CHAPTER FIVE - The Apprenticeship
• CHAPTER SIX - The Kilteevan Report
• CHAPTER SEVEN - A Birthday Visit to Knock
• CHAPTER EIGHT - The Commencement
• CHAPTER NINE - A Gift of Hazel
• CHAPTER TEN - Old Coach Road to Galway
• CHAPTER ELEVEN - The Hollow Bright Fog
• CHAPTER TWELVE - A Worldly Man, Indeed!
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Joe McHugh’s Pub
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN - The Grass Widow and Bottle Scrubber
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Old Country Cures
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Crossing the Shannon
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - A Breather in Ballybunion
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Dead Cut of a Weasel
• CHAPTER NINETEEN - On the Dingle
• CHAPTER TWENTY - Up the Conor Pass
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - Celtic Starlight
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - A Souper’s Kitchen
• CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - A Night with the Travelers
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - A Rock Soars from the Sea
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - Faery-Waxed in Ballybrack
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - The Memory Stone
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - The Road to Kilmakilloge
• CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - Lord Tim of the Holly
• CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - A Wasp’s Dying Sting
• CHAPTER THIRTY - A Run to Mizen Head
• CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - Wood of the Pilgrims
• CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO - Over the River Blackwater
• CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - Washerwoman from Tramore
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - The Cock and Hen
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE - Going Widdershins
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX - A Green Martyr
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN - Brother Malachy of Mount Argus
• CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - Approaching the Dragon
• CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE - The Kingdom of Mourne
• CHAPTER FORTY - Ship on the Sea
• CHAPTER FORTY-ONE - Nursery of Blackguards
• CHAPTER FORTY-TWO - Knock Sunday in Belfast
• CHAPTER FORTY-THREE - The Glens of Antrim
• CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR - Faery Kingdom of Dalriada
• CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE - Gandie’s Goats
• CHAPTER FORTY-SIX - A Celebrity in Derry
• CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN - The Questions of Children
• CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT - Close Call at The Beach
• CHAPTER FORTY-NINE - Mary Hanna’s Pub
• CHAPTER FIFTY - All Hallow’s Eve
• CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE - Missie’s March to Drumnacart
• CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO - Glengesh Pass
• CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE - Glen of the Saint to Aerie of the Bishop
• CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR - A Walk to Ballyshannon
• CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE - Beneath Maeve’s Crown
• CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX - Between Shamrock and Harp
• CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN - Mary Cleary’s Pub
• CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT - From Achill to Clare Island
• CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE - Hazel to Holly
• CHAPTER SIXTY - Rounding Roundstone
• CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE - Lamplight to Streetlights
• CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO - A Bonfire in Ballygar
• CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE - A Proper Pair of Pilgrims
• CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR - A Christmas Ceili
• CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE - Fingerpost to Ballagh
• Epilogue
• Postscript
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Photo Credits
• Copyright Page