The Ballyhoura Walking Festival has marked 30 years of bringing people to the hills and trails of Limerick.
The festival, which joined with the Joyce Brothers Music Festival for a four-day programme from October 8 to 11, attracted more than 350 participants to walking events and roughly 400 people to the music festival.
Known as Ireland’s longest-running community-led walking festival, the event coincided with 40 years of Ballyhoura Fáilte and 20 years of the Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails and included more than 40 walks and experiences, from sunrise treks to challenging marathons and guided explorations.
The pearl anniversary was also a homecoming for two descendants of famous local historian PW Joyce who travelled from England to reconnect with their legacy.
Declan Clancy of Ballyhoura Bears Walking Club said: “There’s nothing quite like seeing people discover the Ballyhouras for the first time, whether it’s watching the sunrise from Seefin, taking on a mountain challenge or simply enjoying a walk and a chat along the way,” he said.
Thirty years on, the festival is still thriving, with the walking and music events due to return from October 7 to 10, 2027.