The Mourne Ramblers – 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
.The Mourne Rambling Group 1969
| Year | Milestones 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 |
| 2019 | Club celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary 50th Anniversary Brochure |
The Mourne Rambling Group 