Dermot’s long trek in memory of Jacqui

Dermot’s long trek in memory of Jacqui

15 March 2017

A MAN who walked 1000km in memory of his wife who died of ovarian cancer has spoken of the powerful effect of local beauty spots on his journey.

Dermot Breen undertook his challenge to walk the Ulster Way in the summer of 2015 in memory of Jacqui who passed away earlier that year — just 10 months after being diagnosed.

His clockwise tour took 38 days in total and raised more than £16,000 for Cancer Research UK along the way.

Dermot’s experiences on the road have now been put into a book called ‘The Edge’, by Shanway Press, which will also raise money for the charity.

Dermot, a Belfast civil servant, said one of the best bits of the challenge was getting familiar with parts of Northern Ireland he barely knew.

“In Down I was in Portaferry and Strangford, all down the coast, through Ardglass and Ballyhornan, Guns Island, St John’s Point, Ballykinlar. I followed Dundrum through Murlough Beach to Newcastle, and went over the Mournes to Rostrevor.

“Apart from visiting Newcastle, I had never ventured that end, between Strangford and Ardglass. It was totally new, it was super. Apart from one big downpour the weather was quite kind to me. 

“A lot of the time it was quite a rugged landscape. I remember making my way to St John’s Point on quite rough ground but it was beautiful and worth it when you got there.

“While mostly on a solitary trek, occasionally people would have joined me along the way and I explained what I was doing. There were a lot memorable meetings with people and their kindness.”

The walk on sometimes isolated and difficult terrain was one way for Dermot to deal with his grief and at times he said it felt overwhelming.

“The main title of my book ‘The Edge’ comes from a pivotal scene in the book when I am standing on the edge of the magnificent cliffs of Binevenagh on the North Coast,” he explained. “It was at this point that my many questions about life and death, and the value or otherwise of going on with my own life alone, came to a rather dramatic head.

“The sub-title of my book is ‘Walking The Ulster Way With My Angels & Demons’. I talk about my demons and my guiding angels accompanying me on my walk and that was how it really felt to me, particularly when I was walking alone, which was most of the time. One moment I was being attacked by all these negative thoughts of hopelessness — my demons — and the next I was being rescued by some positive sign from my angels. For example, when the sun would suddenly break through the dark clouds to light the way ahead — as happened as I was crossing the Downshire Bridge — or there was a bright rainbow streaking a dark sky with a burst of colour — as happened as I was walking along the beach into Newcastle.”

Dermot said he was no natural walker but had taken inspiration from a book he and his primary school teacher wife Jacqui both loved, ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ by Rachel Joyce. 

“In the book, the main character sets off unexpectedly one morning to walk a distance of 627 miles to visit an old work colleague who is terminally ill with cancer,” he said. “Sounds depressing, but if you’ve read the book you will know that it is ultimately an uplifting story. 

“At Christmas I gave Jacqui a copy of the book’s sequel. What she loved were the words that I had written inside the cover of the book, ‘I would walk even further than Harold Fry if I thought it could save you’. She knew that I was never a great walker and our walks together were always shorter than she would have liked because I generally ran out of steam much sooner than she did. So she really appreciated the sentiment behind my words.

“Unfortunately, there was no saving Jacqui and she passed away just a few weeks after Christmas on January 18, 2015. Although heartbroken, the idea of the walk had begun to form in my head.”

The Edge can be bought on Amazon or at: http://shanway.com/product/the-edge/