Castles, Follies & Four-Leaf Clovers: Adventures Along Ireland's St Declan's Way

by Rosamund Burton

The fascinating and funny story of one woman's delightful ramble along St. Declan's Way—the Camino de Santiago of Ireland—battling the mist and the rain, with just an old photocopy of a map to guide her Rosamund's adventures begin when she is loaned a map of the ancient highway and pilgrim route St Declan's Way—one of Ireland's best kept secrets, it is rich in history, castles, and larger-than-life characters. Intrigued, she returns to Ireland. Setting off from the famous Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary, she travels through small towns and villages, across the beautiful Knockmealdown Mountains, to the town of Lismore with its spectacular castle where her family used to live, and then on to the fishing village of Ardmore in County Waterford. Battling the rain as she follows narrow country roads, little-used tracks, and overgrown paths, she traces the footsteps of St. Declan. From a day at a horse fair to climbing mountains and tracking down fairy forts, she captures perfectly the local characters and castles, miraculous wells and talking statues, the broken dreams and local legends. Stories of goddesses, ghosts, and fairies are intertwined with the eccentricities and daily lives of everyday people—this is a journey full of the surprises that only Ireland can offer.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Ireland, Memoir

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This well-written travelogue will make you want to immediately travel to the south of Ireland and experience the people and the flowers. That being said, this book would have been so much better if the author, like the reader, was experiencing St. Declan’s Way for the first time. She does a very good job of describing the weather, wildlife, and beauty of her surroundings and I was absolutely amazed at the warmth and hospitality of the people she encountered. However, being that the author lived in the area in her youth, as she travels she stays with (famous and wealthy) family friends and people she already knows. I found this discouraging and it greatly lessened my love for the rest of the book. I do recommend reading it for the inspiration and magic of Ireland; hopefully you will be more patient with the author than I was. 🍀

[anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books you don't want to end. Loved the walk and characters along the way. Gave me some ideas re family history research, and I noticed some things Catholicism and Buddhism have in common which surprised me :-)

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I ever am lucky enough to visit Ireland then most definitely I would love to walk St Declan's Way and this gem of a book would be my guide. I so enjoyed the history, the friendships and local lore. A book to remember.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely if you know the area she's talking about, gorgeous descriptions and tells it as it is.. Brambles and all!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book.

Before finding Burton's book about walking St Declan's Way, I had never heard of the pilgrim path. Point for Burton: she has inspired me to walk the path someday; and, her love of Ireland rings clear and genuine and strong throughout the entire book.

Unfortunately, the writing is just not that great. She jumps from thought to thought without transition. She name-drops people - both obscure historical figures and people she knows personally- as though we are supposed to know exactly about who she is writing. She finds all of these great historical tidbits or sites, but doesn't give us any detail about them. After over 200 pages, I feel like I know as much about St Declan's Way as I did after reading the first chapter.

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently read a book about walking the Santiago de Compostela, Castles, Follies & Four-Leaf Clovers is another wonderful memoir about following a path through history! St Declan's Way is often referred to as the Irish version of the Santiago Pilgrimage and although not as long in length, it's overflowing with history and the walking is on a par. Rosamund Burton has peppered her tale with plenty of anecdotes about St Declan, the towns, churches and people that she encounters along the way. If you want an enjoyable bit of armchair travel right now...have a read.

[Doug Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A soggy mix of memoir, reflection and travelogue

[MonkeyBusiness · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just rambles too much to be engaging for me.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nice story with lots of history and reflections.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Castles, Follies, and Four-Leaf Clovers: Adventures Along Ireland’s St. Declan’s Way is about the author’s attempt to travel the old St. Declan’s Way, which is an old road that was supposedly the route St. Declan took when he traveled across Ireland. She’s from the UK and lived in Ireland with her parents as a child, so she has friends that she meets up with occasionally as she travels, but she walks the entirety of the way.

I enjoyed reading about her tromps through Ireland, meeting random friends of hers and learning more about herself and Ireland’s history (especially the conversion to Christianity). However, she wrote this in a way that was a little uncomfortable to read. It was in a very weird version of present tense, where her journey itself was as though she was dictating it to a journal but events that happened after she walked it but before she wrote the book were in past tense. It was very strange, and it made it hard to read. However, I was only reading this book for a bit of a light travel memoir, so it wasn’t a big deal.

[Sally906 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A travel-memoir about one lady's journey along St. Declan's Way, a largely forgotten pilgrimage path through Ireland to get in touch with her Irish roots

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable armchair traveling, with a mild new-age flavor.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man do I want to do this pilgrimage now. Rosamund's writing style is so easy to get wrapped up in. Literally couldn't put the book down. A very nice summer read :)

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read, some interesting history. Mostly ruminations of the author.