Day of events in Kilkenny to mark 40th anniversary of Tyndall Mountain Club

Tyndall Mountain Club is celebrating its 40th anniversary later this month with a very special series of events to mark the momentus occasion.

For four decades its members have walked and hiked all over Ireland and regularly go further afield to experience the different terrains in other parts of the world.

The club is hugely important to its 170-plus members - not only do they organise four weekly hikes but the club also has a wonderful social aspect to it.

Every Sunday morning members meet at the old cinema on Gaol Road and head off on one of two hikes, which are all led by members of the club. Most of these hikes are within an hour or less drive from Kilkenny and people carpool and share the cost of petrol. There are also walks every Wednesday and Friday.

After a day of hiking on the hills and enjoying the company of others the group often have a pit stop on the way home in a nearby watering hole, to refuel with a cup of tea or something stronger. It also gives the walkers a chance to rest and reflect on their day out in the elements.
Brandon Hill, Sliabh na mBan and Mount Leinster are popular hikes as are the Comeraghs, the Blackstairs and the Knockmealdowns and there are a number of weekends away to destinations further afield during the year.

This summer the club had two booked-out trips to Crete with some members reaching the highest peak on the island, Psilortitis - the summit is 2,456 metres. Early next year members will travel to Morocco.

Lifelong friendships have been forged through the club and strong bonds formed. All members, both past and present are invited to join in the celebrations on Saturday, November 19.

“We are hoping that as many present and former members come along to celebrate the occasion,” said chairperson, Irene Burke.

At 3.30pm there will be a tree planting ceremony in the Castle Park and the unveiling of a bench with a commemorative plaque remembering all those involved with the club. That evening there will be a dinner at the Clubhouse Hotel at 6pm with guest speaker, Frank Nugent who was part of the first Irish Everest expedition.

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Founded in Kilkenny in 1981 by a group of people interested in hiking and the outdoors, the club was named to commemorate John Tyndall, the renowned 19th century mountaineer and scientist, who was born and grew up nearby.

Founding member, Martin O’Reilly explained how the group came into being.
“I moved to Kilkenny in 1979 and was teaching at the Loreto Secondary School,” he said. “At the time I was a member of a hill walking club in Dublin and used to go hiking a lot.”

Martin and a colleague of his, Jerry Herlihy, decided to hold a meeting in 1981 to see if there was much interest in setting up a hillwalking group locally. Around 30 people attended the initial meeting and from there Tyndall Mountain Club was formed.

For more than 40 years Martin, alongside a number of other founding members including Jerry Herlihy and Kevin Higgins, have been out rambling in nature with the club.

“Hillwalking attracts very friendly people and it is great as we get to see so many beautiful places at home and abroad. We are very much looking forward to our celebrations on November 19 and we are encouraging all our present and past members to come along and enjoy the events,” he said.

Michael Gannon, who has also been involved in the club since its infancy has travelled widely both on his own trips to Africa, South America, Australia and Everest base camp. He has also hiked extensively with the club across much of Europe including in Spain, Greece, France, Austria, Switzerland and also to Morocco and Tanzania.

“We have had so many amazing trips over the years,” he said adding that one of the most memorable trips was one to Tanzania in 1999 with Martin O’Reilly and Martin Brett. I am looking forward to the celebrations later this month,” he added.

The group’s celebratory dinner in the Clubhouse Hotel will also feature a talk and a very special slide show spanning the club’s history.

All are welcome to attend and tickets for the dinner are €25 and are available at eventbrite.ie