A Birr man's thirst for adventure

FOR many years Birr man Michael Delaney has harboured a deep grá for the Great Outdoors and adventure, a desire and drive which has brought him to some of the most beautiful places on Earth, where he has undertaken a number of serious mountaineering challenges.
Michael is 52 years of age and is originally from Mile Tree Birr. He lives in Rath with his wife Pearl and three children, Rachel, Conor, and Rebecca.
Michael worked for many years as a carpenter but lost his job during the fallout from the Great Recession. He returned to college and studied mechanical engineering, eventually qualifying after four years. In his role as a mechanical engineer he travels all over the world. Destinations have included America, Canada, Israel, Sweden, Dubai, Nepal and Africa.
In 1995 he suffered a very serious accident during which he was knocked off his motorbike. As he was lying on the roadway another car drove over him. “He was very lucky to survive that,” said Pearl. “To recover from that and get to where he is today, climbing all these tough mountains, is amazing. We are very proud of him.”
“I'm blessed to say,” Michael told me, “that I've seen a sunrise above the highest and the lowest places on Earth. I firmly believe that we should live life to our best ability while we can, and for me that means travelling and climbing mountains. As a result I have been very fortunate to enjoy some great experiences. Some experiences have shown me the fragility of the planet, a fragility which must be protected; I have been shown the incredible beauty of God's world in the great mountain ranges.”
Michael quotes the famous statement from “The Fellowship of the Ring” - "It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to." Michael says this quote resonates with the adventurous spirit in him, “the will to step outside the box, the curiosity to explore, and the courage and determination to take the first step and succeed.”
He began hillwalking 15 years ago and his first climb was Croagh Patrick. “I set off from home at 1 in the morning to climb the Reek. I arrived in Murrisk at 4am and made my way to the top alone; deeply moved by the views, the serenity and the beauty of the mountain. I thought I was on top of the world, and it instilled a hunger, a thirst, in me to return to the high places again and again.” Since then he's climbed Croagh Patrick 45 times.
Shortly after that he climbed Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil, on a snowy April day. He has since climbed Carrauntoohil 14 times, and all of the mountains above 2000ft in Ireland (of which there are over 200), some many times over.
He climbed Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, near Fort William Scotland, for charity and raised much needed funds in the process.
“As my list of summits grew and the elevations increased gradually I decided to try high altitude mountaineering. I signed up for an expedition with world renowned mountaineer and adventurer Pat Falvey. We trekked to the base camp of the highest mountain in the world. Everest Base Camp stands 17,598 ft above sea level, with only 50% of the available oxygen we are used to breathing at sea level. It is a tough challenge to complete, a punishing and arduous grind from Lukla (the start of the trek, and the home of the most dangerous airport in the world. The flight into the side of the mountains is not for the faint hearted.)” Before the trek Michael was living and working in Albuquerque. He trained on New Mexico’s Sandia Mountain 7 days a week for 7 months, hiking 5 miles with a heavy backpack each time. A cable car on Sandia took him up to 10,368 feet above sea level. He saw cougars, rattlesnakes and bears during these training walks.
After Everest Base Camp Michael climbed a mountain called Island Peak, which is a few days trek from Everest and is about 20,000 feet. He climbed Island Peak with a Sherpa guide called Ngima (who had ascended Everest nine times). Island Peak is a technical mountain, requiring crampons, ice axe, jumar (ascender) and figure of 8 (descender). “On summit day we had breakfast at 12am and began our summit attempt. It was bitterly cold in the tent that night, -16 degrees celsius, and I was glad to finally move and warm up. Some 45 people left base camp that night, but only 30 summited. The push up the mountain was difficult, hampered by the icy cold air and the very obvious lack of available oxygen. We came to several crevasses, deep cracks in the mountain which were dangerous and very deep. The final challenge was an almost vertical ice wall standing some 450ft above us. Finally, at 6am as the snow fell and the sun rose, I stood 20,365 feet above sea level, on the summit of Island Peak. However, I began suffering from altitude sickness. Therefore I descended as swiftly as I could. Altitude sickness can lead to death. If you begin suffering from it, start descending.”
Since that adventure the Birr man has climbed a number of the world's famous mountains. This included an ascent of Mount Vesuvius in Italy and gazing down into its extinct crater from the summit ring. The climbing hasn't all been mountains. A memorable experience was The Vatican Dome. “Climbing the Dome is a strange feeling because the dome tapers and the space reduces considerably, until you emerge on the top of this wonderful structure and finally gaze on the City of Rome in all its splendour.
“In 2023 I worked in Israel for almost 4 months, and I visited wonderful places such as Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem; a very rewarding outing involved a climb. Once again I donned a headtorch and ascended a mountain to arrive at King Herod’s Palace in Masada National Park. I moved quickly to get to the top, and was treated to a truly spectacular sunrise above The Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth, at almost 1,400 ft below sea level! From the summit I witnessed the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen. The spectacular landscape revealed itself as the sun rose quickly in the sky. Temperatures here rapidly rise to 40 degrees celsius and above, so the trip back down was completed swiftly before they closed the path to prevent unsuspecting hikers from getting heatstroke.
“Months passed by and I yearned for another challenging adventure, so I booked a trip to Africa; to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, one of the 7 summits, and the tallest free-standing mountain on Earth. Again, the training started. It can be a solitary undertaking as walking, cycling and climbing usually occurs before or after the working day. While others rested I trained.
“I booked the expedition with Earth's Edge expedition company, owned and operated by Roscrea gentleman James McManus, and I was lucky to meet James en route in Qatar airport on his way to Nepal, where we shared a conversation and a few laughs; a nice motivational addition to my trip.
“This expedition began at Kilimanjaro National Park entrance gate, where we hiked and climbed over 4 days through 5 different climate zones on the way to Kosovo Camp, the last camp before attempting the summit.”
On summit night the team left the camp at 12am, and after 5 hours climbing in freezing darkness reached Stella Point, a famous landmark sign on the mountain which tells you that you are one hour away from reaching your goal. This is the point on the mountain where many quit and go back down, but others feel sufficiently energised to finish their goal. On October 14th, 2024, Michael proudly stood with his Irish flag on the summit of Kilimanjaro and witnessed the magnificent sunrise spreading over the vast African landscape. “It was a challenging climb, up in 4 days, down in 2,” he said. “Climbers typically stay in camps as they progress up the mountain, and the summit day is the hardest thing many will ever do in their lifetime. Arctic cold, difficult terrain, step by step, the reward on reaching the summit is magical. There are still glaciers on the summit. Experts say they will be gone in 20 years.
“One thing I have noticed as I have climbed all over the world is the similarities we all have. Of course, we have different languages, customs, and dreams, but we share much. I've found that to be able to spend time with likeminded people from all corners of the world and work together to achieve a common goal is encouraging and rewarding. I have shared my experiences by doing a presentation with several local schools and the feedback was very positive; the questions sessions at the end proving to be the most interesting and rewarding parts.
“I live by 2 mantras - work hard play harder, and never give up! We are only here once. Participate more, spectate less. Hard climbs offer fantastic views.”