- Qualifications & Education Read More
- Honours Degree in Outdoor Education
- Mountain leader
- Rock climbing leader
- White water kayak instructor
- Previous Experience Read More
I spent 3 years working as an outdoor education instructor, teaching a range of adventure activities to everyone from 8 to 80. I then went on to spend 5 years as a coordinator of an inner-city based adventure project working with disadvantaged teens. For the past several years, I’ve been working as a hiking and outdoors guide, exploring the wonders of Ireland with overseas clients. What a dream job!
- Travel & Biggest Adventures Read More
Post college, I spent two full summers mountaineering in the Alps and living the dream! Every night, I slept under the stars and spent my days rock and ice climbing – all on a shoestring budget!
I’ve also taken a couple of 10 day trips to the beautiful Pyrenees mountains on the border of Spain and France for some very special white water river fun. And then there was the time that I spent the winter wandering the mountains of the Cairngorms and Nevis mountain range in Scotland, where I ended up as Acting Warden in the famous Alex McIntyre mountaineering hut!
- Outdoor Activities Read More
I’m a passionate outdoorsman – I love all things mountains, and enjoy running, biking, trekking and skiing. Recently, I have traded the frenzy of freestyle kayaking for the serenity of the coastline in my sea kayak.
The little-known Irish sport of Irish road bowling is ingrained in my DNA. As a proud Cork man, I continue to compete at the highest level in that sport!
- Hobbies Read More
Music and singing, specifically Irish traditional songs, are very important to me. I particularly love songs specific to a region or historical story.
Irish road bowling, an ancient art of throwing a metal ball down Irish country lanes, is one of my favourite pastimes. Taught to me by my father and to him by his father before, only small pockets of this pure Irish game remain in Ireland and I feel lucky to get to both play and help organise the game.
I’m new to open water swimming, but I’m enthusiastic about this new love. Going from swimming in a warm indoor pool to the chilly wild Atlantic waves opens up infinite adventures of both physical and indeed spiritual possibilities.
I am one of the last generations who worked as a child in the bogs of Ireland in order to cut the ‘turf’ – a traditional fuel source that is cut by hand and laboriously stacked to dry until it is brought in to be burned in the chimney on a chilly winters night, keeping us warm until the following spring. I feel a deep connection with this type of landscape and the culture of an Ireland that is all but gone.
- Favourite Regions Read More
I am West Cork by birth and now raising 4 children with my wife in the heart of this beautiful part of the southwest, I suppose I am an expert of sorts on this area – although that doesn’t stop me from continuing to explore every back road and tiny sandy bay! No matter how long I live in the region of West Cork, I am constantly surprised by the hidden treasures that I find.
In general, I know and love the entire west coast of Ireland. In my downtime and on family holidays, we almost always head for the West coast of Ireland. Despite the significant change that our country has gone through in the last 20 years, you can easily find the wild beauty and warm welcoming people, bringing us back again and again.
