Joyful Pilgrimage

This is the story of the 1963 re-enactment of the sea voyage made by St.Columba in the 6th Century (563 A.D.) from Derry, Northern Ireland to Iona in the Hebrides aboard a traditional Irish curragh.

Canon John Barry, the instigator of it all, tells the story with the dry humour of an Ulsterman, savoring the outlandish original idea and how it was shaped, aided by a growing band of supporters, into a grand adventure of faith and fraternity. Barry writes in a self-deprecating way, claiming expertise in nothing. For him, the heroes are the skipper, the designer, the boat builder, the other crew members and the curragh. But beneath his commentary, his own engaging and passionate influence shines.

This book is a facsimile edition of the original 1964 book. It will interest modern-day pilgrims who wish to learn more about St.Columba and his historic decision to leave Ireland for Scotland, as well as the path he and his followers took. But more than that, for those interested in ancient craft and the sea, the skipper, Wallace Clark, reflects on the decision to build a curragh. He tells us of the design, building and her sailing performance and reflects on how the vessel might have been improved with hindsight.

Author Biography

Born in Belfast in 1915, John Barry was fascinated from his early years by the Barry family story. They were Protestants forced to flee north Italy then south-east France to escape religious persecution in the early 16th century. They arrived in Ireland in the early years of the 17th century.

Ordained on St Matthew’s Day 21st September 1938 for the curacy of St Matthew’s Shankill in west Belfast, John never lost the values he learnt in his early years, that in life we may be called to travel, that most of us in Ireland were immigrants at some time in our families’ history, that we must be always ready to embrace others and their difference, their culture and ideas.

In St Columba he found a kindred spirit, someone from the distant past whose spirituality predates our contemporary divisions, someone whose vision can inspire us in the present and lead to a better future.

The Iona Curragh became the key moment in his ministry, of greater significance to him in his life than the 34-year incumbency of the Parish of Hillsborough in Co Down, Chaplain in that time to every Governor who represented the Sovereign in N Ireland.

Following the voyage, John continued as the Chaplain to the curragh crew for the rest of his life, never ceasing to care for each of them and their families.

Canon John Barry retired after 45 years in 1983 and died on the Eve of St Matthew’s Day 2006 at the age of 91.

Wallace Clark MBE (20 November 1926 – 8 May 2011) was a yachtsman, writer and businessman from Northern Ireland.
He spent time in the Royal Navy during the war, then the Merchant Navy, before joining his family linen firm. But he had a passion for the sea.
He sought release from corporate pressures by sailing around Ireland and Scotland teaching himself to sail in all conditions and acquiring a huge knowledge of the tides, rocks and local lore of remote places with the help of local fishermen.
He went on to sail to France, Norway, Scotland and around Ireland aboard Wild Goose, a ten-ton, thirty-five-foot yawl built in 1936, which became his best-known boat.
In 1963 he led the re-enactment of St Columba’s 563 AD voyage from Northern Ireland to Iona, described in Joyful Pilgrimage by John Barry.
In the early 1990s Clark focused on raising sponsorship for the construction of a medieval-style galley, the Aileach, designed by Colin Mudie and built in Donegal. It’s successful maiden voyage in 1991, from Galway to the Outer Hebrides, gained much media attention. Clark told the story in ‘The Lord of the Isles Voyage (1993)