Legend holds that the remains of St James the Apostle were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where they were buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.

The last 20 years have seen an extraordinary revival of interest in the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The records of the Archdiocese show that in 1986, 2,491 pilgrims walked the Camino while in 2006, 100,377 pilgrims travelled the various routes leading to the great Cathedral of St James. Pope John Paul visited Santiago de Compostela on the 19th August 1989 on the occasion of the fourth World Youth Day.

While there are several routes to Compostela, the traditional route is known as the French Way or the route of stars. It begins in Saint Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees and travels westward for almost 800 kilometres before arriving in Santiago de Compostela. This route, also known as the Camino francés was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1987, and inscribed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 1993.

On June 20th, 27 volunteers associated with the Trust arrived to walk the above route. After a short delay at Dublin Airport, the group arrived into Santiago Airport on an Aer Lingus flight in the late afternoon. Having landed they were eager to get started. The group transferred the town of Sarria, over 100km from Santiago for overnight accommodation and where they were to begin their walk.

Stone distance markers which indicate every half kilometres walked – are lined along the path and while the group started at the 110km mark it realised on the Thursday afternoon that those markers disappeared after the 12km mark – and the reason? There are about another 18 km to walk… Galician landscapes are rolling, green, forested and largely rural. During the weeks walk the group pass through various rustic hamlets on ancient pathways where stone dominates in architecture and village life is largely agricultural.

Day one took the group from Sarria to Portomarin a journey of 22 km – the over all day was pleasant with intermittent showers in the late morning. The group arrived sporadically into Portomarin – some walking with a purpose, while other took time to smell the flowers, take a few pictures and plenty of coffee.

Portomarin is a ‘new’ town, built in 1962, as the old town was completely destroyed, used for the building of a new dam and ultimately flooded by water.. The Church of St Nicolas which sits in the square was dismantled brick by brick and rebuilt in the new town. The group participated in the festivities of the town celebrating the feast of Ste Isabella.
On Monday morning, the group awoke to some cloud and broken sunshine and headed through the forests and fields of the Galician Countryside to the town of Palas de Rei a journey of 24 km – the day became warmer with plenty of sunshine.

On Tuesday the group awoke to mist and some rain and were thankful that the walk from Palas de Rei to Melide was only a short 15km and could be done in the morning, before checking in for a well deserved shower! Melide is an industrial town and boasts a number of historic interests.

On Wednesday the group travelled in sunshine form Melide to Arazua, again a journey of 15km. The main economic activities in Arzúa are agriculture and animal husbandry, although in recent years the tourist sector has gained momentum due to the Camino as well as the rehabilitation of cottages and farms now devoted to rural tourism.

On Thursday the group were aware that they had a walk just shy of 30km and set out at 7.30am. Even at that hour temperatures were high as were the spirits - it was obvious early on that it was to be a warm one! And a warm one it turned out to be…All would agree it was the toughest one compounded by the searing sunshine. But by the late afternoon all had arrived aware that we were nearer the ‘summit’

On Friday the group set out in beautiful morning sunshine for the last leg of the journey – feet were fresher, bellies filled and the spirits elevated as they approached the summit of Monte do Gozo where the late Pope John Paul celebrated mass on the fourth World Youth Day in 1989. From here the group got their first view of the city of Santiago de Compostela.

A Pilgrim's mass is held in the Cathedral each day at noon for pilgrims and the group were well in time. The IHCPT group was welcomed during the mass by the Administrator of the Cathedral, along with peoples and groups representing over thirty nationalities.

Bishop Dermot had also sent a note to the group stating that “You are the first IHCPT pilgrim walkers to Santiago de Compostela. Warmest congratulations on a wonderful achievement. I have no doubt that many more will follow in your footsteps but no walk can have the same prophetic value as the first”. His welcomed note also stated that “Never underestimate how much your great generosity means to the Trust. Every Euro you collect on your sponsored walk is worth it's weight in gold. You will make a real difference in the lives of children and young people with disabilities. Thanks a million. May the Lord bless you and your loved ones with divine abundance for your great goodness”

In the afternoon after checking in, freshening up and having some lunch most of the group gathered at the Pilgrim's office by the side of the Cathedral to collect their certificate called a ‘compostela’ based on their pilgrim passport called a ‘credencial’ filled with stamps from the towns they passed along the route. The Compostela is a certificate of accomplishment given to pilgrims on completing the Camino. To earn the Compostela one needs to walk a minimum of 100 kilometers. The Credencial, also known as the "Pilgrim's passport" is stamped with the official St. James stamp of each town at which the pilgrim has stayed. It provides walking pilgrims with a record of where they ate or slept, but also serves as proof to the Pilgrim's office in Santiago that the journey is accomplished according to an official route.