A NEW LIFE: Tony Kirby has swapped his civil service life in Dublin to explore and promote the wild beauty of the Burren. Fiona Tyrrell writes.
'It's highly unlikely I will return to my job in the civil service," Tony Kirby says with more than a hint of glee in his voice. For a man who earned his crust tackling social disadvantage in Dublin city, moving to the other side of the country to give walking tours in the wilds of the Burren, Co Clare was more than a career change, it was a very big adventure.
Eleven months into a three-year career break from the civil service and the big adventure appears to be a resounding success.
The business has been declared "viable" and Tony and his partner Eimer are now looking to buy a home. His job in the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs is "just a memory now", he says. "I'm besotted with the life down here. It will be hard to move us off now."
As radical as the move from urban renewal to hill walking may seem, on closer inspection it seems Tony has been slowly winding his way towards his new career for many years.
Prior to the move to Clare, Tony spent five years in Italy in the 1990s. On his return to Ireland, he founded a company to give walking tours of Dublin city in Italian. In the same year, he became a Fáilte Ireland-approved national tour guide, specialising in the Burren region.
A desire to live in the west of Ireland prompted the couple to move to the Burren.
"It was more Eimer's idea than mine, but I didn't need that much convincing. Both of us regard change as a positive challenge rather than something intimidating."
Kerry and west Cork were ruled out because they were too remote and, in the summer of 2003, Tony and Eimer moved to Carran, a tiny village in east Clare, where he founded Heart of Burren Walks.
His guided walks range from gentle strolls to challenging hill walks, during which Tony, a man not shy of a few words, regales walkers with the stories and the enigmas of the Burren.
Midway through his first successful summer season, Tony is hatching plans to expand the business and link up with a hotel in Ballyvaughan to provide weekend walking breaks in the autumn and spring.
For Tony the adventure has gone well and he "heartily recommends" a life change to anyone who may be thinking about it.
"My life is a lot less stressful now. I am a much more fulfilled person. We have less money but are far happier," he explains.
Having suffered from eczema for 10 years, it has now disappeared. This is due to his happier existence, Tony insists.
Change is good, he believes, and, even if the adventure had failed, he feels the experience would have been worth it.
However, Tony doesn't deny there were many challenges along the way.
"We moved here in the winter. The Burren in the summer is magical and full of life and people.
"In winter though the weather is unforgiving," he says.
"We have learned from that and will be taking our holidays in winter from now on."
The increased dependence on cars was also a hurdle for the couple and Tony had to learn how to drive and pass his test before they moved to the west.
"We live in an isolated area and if you miss out on milk or bread in your shopping there is a 40-minute round trip to be made.
"One of the ironies of living in the country is how car-dependent you become."
Providing walking tours of the Burren is just one of a number of jobs Tony does, including tour guiding for bus tours and publicity work for the Glór Arts Centre in Ennis.
"Like many people in the west of Ireland, I do a number of jobs to survive," he explains.
The isolation and distance from family and friends are the difficulties to be faced.
On the up side there is the "magic" of the Burren.
"It is Ireland's most important landscape by a long shot and it is up there as one of the most remarkable landscapes in the world."
Heart of Burren Walks can be contacted on 065 7089998 or by email: info@heartofburrenwalks.com