Mourne Rambling Group

Mourne Mountains, Co. Down
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The Mourne Rambling Group - A Short History

The Mourne Rambling Group began in 1969. From initial road walking a few individuals soon moved to hill walking and thus the club developed. Clarence Cheney from Banbridge is the man mainly associated with those days and is fondly remembered as the club's founding father.

Many of the early members joined the group after reading the weekly article in local papers which gave a report of the previous Sunday's walk and where the group intended to meet the following Sunday. Eventually, the group progressed to producing an annual programme of walks for the 52 Sundays of the year. Originally, the group walked as one but as more members felt the need for more strenuous walks, this has now evolved to 'A', 'B' and 'C' groups.

In recent years, special events on the programme such as a night time Star Trek, an annual Slide Show, a Tidy up the Mournes Walk, a New Year's Sunrise Walk to the top of Donard and a club picnic have been enjoyed by members. These initiatives are itemised in the Milestones Down the Years, below.

Since its earliest days, trips have also been undertaken to places of spectacular beauty outside the Mournes - places such as Donegal, Connemara, Kerry, Tipperary, Scotland, Snowdonia and the Lake District among others.

YearMilestones Down the Years
1969 Mourne Ramblers formed by Clarence Cheney. Walks (one group) starts at 12.30
70's Loads of ...dogs, kids and their parents, young adults, very basic gear
1973 60 members in the group
1974 Mrs Meneely (Tea Lady) know to appear regularly at end of walks with tea and buns - laid out on a table cloth
1976 A and B groups operate
1977 46 ramblers attend the Christmas dinner dance
1978 Club takes out insurance
1979 Free membership for over 60s debated and rejected
80's Gortex appears, few children and families, lots of young adults and blossoming romances
1980 Major discussion regarding dogs on walks. Decision taken to ban dogs.
1981 First Mourne Ramblers Newsletter circulated
1982 Recommended equipment list drawn up
1986 Clarence Cheney dies
1987 Early starts (12:00) introduced for winter months: Nov - Jan
1988 First computerisation of members details
1989 Constitution for Mourne Ramblers introduced. Winter walks start at 11:00
90's Designer gear appears. Several bids to change the name of the group. Walking poles on the increase.
1991 Mourne Ramblers attend 'Host a Hiker Weekend' in Dublin organised by Irish Ramblers.
1992 Walks start at 11:30. Mourne Ramblers host the Irish Ramblers
1993 C Group walks (one per month) introduced - first Sun of the month
1994 25th Anniversary year
1995 C group walks every two weeks
1996 Walks start at 11:00
1998 C walks every Sunday
00's Hi tec gear, hi tec admin
2000 Ramblers join Mountaineering Council of Ireland (MCI)
2001 Email addresses used for disseminating information. Foot and Mouth crisis greatly affects the walking programme. Connemara Easter trip goes ahead with road walks and cycling
2003 Star Trek first appears on the programme
2004 Web Site launched. Sun rise walk appears on the programme for New Years day
2006 Ramblers resign from Mountaineering Council of Ireland
2007 Walks for novice members introduced
2009 40th anniversary year: celebrated by a commemorative walks, dinner dance and production of a special glossy magazine.
2010 Web development sub committee formed to revamp the Web site
2011 New Web site launched
2013 Mourne Ramblers Facebook site launched
2015 Trial D walks introduced for evaluation
2016 D Walks introduced on a monthly basis
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