Mary's Meals - Step by Step Walk to Knock (Mayo Leg)

What to Expect

Mary’s Meals holds its annual “Step by Step to Feed the Next Child” Walk to Knock from 7 to 15 August 2026, with walkers setting out from eight starting points around Ireland and covering over 200km over nine days to reach the Marian Shrine at Knock. This year’s route introduces a new leg through Mayo, taking in Ballina, Foxford, Castlebar, Westport, Partry, Shrule, Claremorris and Ballyhaunis before finishing at Knock, led by longtime Mary’s Meals supporter Ger Silke. The Mayo walkers arrive in Ballyhaunis on Friday 14 August and set out the following morning, 15 August, for the final leg into Knock. Ger Silke is also climbing Croagh Patrick on 9 August as part of the wider fundraising push. Parishes along the route are asked to support the walkers with a bucket collection as they pass through, with all funds going toward providing school meals for children in some of the world’s poorest communities.

Mary’s Meals is an international charity that provides a daily meal in a place of education for children in some of the poorest countries in the world, on the basis that the promise of food draws children into the classroom, and each Walk to Knock is designed to raise both funds and awareness for that work in the run-up to the new school year. The multi-day, multi-route format means the charity’s reach spans dozens of parishes rather than a single town, and local communities along the Mayo leg are specifically asked to turn out with a bucket collection as the walkers pass through, giving people who cannot walk the full distance an easy way to contribute.

Good to Know

• Mayo leg: arrives Ballyhaunis Friday 14 August 2026, departs for Knock on the morning of Saturday 15 August
• Full national walk: 7-15 August 2026, from eight starting points, covering 200km+
• Route through Mayo: Ballina, Foxford, Castlebar, Westport, Partry, Shrule, Claremorris, Ballyhaunis, Knock
• Price: Free to watch or support; bucket collections welcome along the route
• Donate online, or find out more, at marysmeals.ie
• Led locally by supporter Ger Silke, who also climbed Croagh Patrick on 9 August in support of the walk

Getting There

The Mayo leg passes directly through the county’s main towns on public roads, so it can be joined or watched from Ballina, Foxford, Castlebar, Westport, Claremorris or Ballyhaunis, all of which have Bus Eireann connections. Knock, the finishing point, is just off the N17 near Ireland West Airport Knock.