Cork GAA stalwart’s Camino pilgrimage raises €3k for cancer research

A Midleton GAA stalwart may be excused for putting his feet up for a few days after completing the 120km last leg of the Camino pilgrimage from Sarria to Santiago di Compostela.

Paudie O’Brien, who is also well known in Cork GAA as a games development co-ordinator, walked in sometimes sweltering heat from Sarria to the city where James the Apostle was, according to tradition, laid to rest.

The walk took him along a well-worn trail through villages, farms, and some spectacular Galician scenery in northern Spain and as he was walking, and he raised well over €3,000 for cancer research through an online fundraiser.

Having taken part in the 100 Days of Walking initiative, organised yearly by Newstalk radio presenter Dr Ciara Kelly, Paudie decided it was time to tackle one of the world’s most talked-about pilgrimages, the Camino, and to do so alone.

He was taking on the last stage of a walk which stretches well over 1,000km in total and traditionally began for Irish pilgrims at St James’s Gate in Dublin.

Compostela

The ‘compostela’ is the passport the pilgrims carried and which is stamped at way-marks along the various routes. When the pilgrim reaches Santiago, they show their passport at an office near the cathedral and receive a certificate to mark their achievement.

Paudie has also gained a following for his daily video updates on social media. After the first day — Saturday, April 13 — he was asking people to pray for him, but after the second day he was asking for prayers for his blisters as he now had blisters on his blisters.

On the fourth day, which was the shortest walk at just 19km, he received some sad news as his auntie Kay had died at home. 

Others he met on the Camino rallied around and took care of him, he told his followers online that evening in his video report.

Mass

The final day saw him arrive at the Cathedral of St James in Santiago, the final destination of the pilgrims who have come to Santiago through different routes for generations. There, they attend Mass in the impressive cathedral and watch as a team of monks use ropes to control a giant incense burner — the Botafumeiro — as it swings up and down the central aisle. The purpose is to mask the smell of the congregation — in earlier centuries not everyone would have had a shower every day.

“When I started off on this journey, I had a lot of people on my mind, people who have gone before me, my own mam and dad, Uncle Billy, Deirdre’s mam and dad, Little Maxies, and, of course, the one man himself who inspired me; I’d like to dedicate this to the great Thomas [Abernethy], Tommy Aber, a legend of a man who we miss every day,” he said.

According to Paudie, it was his friend who inspired him to take on the challenge of walking the ancient pilgrim path.

Now back at home with his wife and family, Paudie was delighted to raise more than €3,000 for cancer research with a particular focus on prostate cancer.

It was the achievement of a personal ambition and he was delighted to have completed the pilgrimage and got his ‘compostela’ stamped.