Meet Joe - Your Guide
I'm Joe Quinn, and I am the owner of Walkabout Wicklow. I love the outdoors, and I get great pleasure in introducing people to the rugged beauty of the Wicklow and Dublin Mountains and I always enjoy some light hearted banter along the way. I also have a great interest in local history, and flora and fauna, and this all makes up part of the Walkabout Wicklow experience.
I take great pride in my work, and have a lot of experience in the outdoors.
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As an officer in the Army I served in a number of places all over the world, and with the United Nations. I have completed a number of specialist courses, including airborne rappel instructor, survival training and advanced navigation/ field craft, to name a few. I also completed Degree in History and a Masters in International Relations.
After a corporate career spanning a few years I started up Walkabout Wicklow Limited, offering a variety of services. These include corporate team building activities, fully guided recreational hill walking/ hiking tours, hiking courses (including training in navigation, route selection, walking safety etc) and singles activities.
This is my office - The Beautiful Wicklow Hills
Michael Byrne
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My forebears roamed the Wicklow Hills for hundreds of years as the wild O'Byrne clan, leading large military campaigns through the magnificent Glenmalure and Glendalough Valleys, keeping invaders at bay. Nowadays we O'Byrnes actively encourage visitors to this beautiful part of Ireland, and it is my pleasure to be able to guide people from all corners of the world through my ancestral homeland.
I have been interested in the hills for many years, and have a passion for local history, flora and fauna, and off the beaten track walking trails. After many years working in an office environment I decided to put my skills to good use, and joined the Walkabout Wicklow team.
Having lived in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains all of my life - the starting point of the famous 'Wicklow Way' walking route - there is not much that goes on in these hills that I don't know about, and I love nothing more than sharing this knowledge with the visitors we bring into the hills.
It has been said that I'm blessed with the famous Irish 'gift of the gab', so I don't need any encouragement to share my knowledge with fellow hillwalkers!!
I look forward to meeting you all on the hills, and sharing the beauty of the world famous 'Garden Of Ireland'!