Teachers’ tales of Everest climb will ensure students’ attention

It all began over the Breakfast Club at Gort Community School when PE teacher Aoife Lynskey Keane convinced her fellow fitness fanatic, school SNA Gina Casey, that the only way was up.

BY SIMON FLATLEY

The seed was sown after adventurer Peter O’Connell from Killererin – who also happened to be best friends with Aoife’s brother in law - had given a talk to the school about his Everest summit success from 2013.

Both Gina, from Gort, and Aoife, from Ardrahan, had previously run marathons together, although they knew this would be a different kettle of fish.

To put it in perspective, Ireland’s highest mountain is Carrauntoohil and stands at 1,038m while Base Camp on Everest is over five times that, at 5,364m.

Still, they decided to give it their all, and in the months leading up to the trek, the two south Galway women left no stone unturned in preparation.

Doc Fitness Gym in Kilcolgan became a regular haunt to prepare them, with special emphasis on strength and conditioning.

Then, at the end of March, the two made their way to Katmandu – armed with a few unusual items for Everest adventurers.

Keen camogie player Aoife brought a hurley or two and a few sliotars with her – and about half way to their destination, they passed a town called Namche Bazaar, with some shops for equipment and essentials for climbers, some sherpas with their yaks and what do you know, an Irish Bar!

They went in for a look, got chatting to Evan and donated a hurl all the way from Galway to presumably take pride of place amongst the various county jerseys on the walls.

On reaching the summit, despite the ordeal, they got a new lease of life and delight in what they had done – but they hadn’t much time to hang around as the weather had deteriorated, with snow storms and freezing cold.

Some special mass cards were delicately placed in respectful spot, with the names of their great friend, former Gort Community Centre Manager Jamesie Lee, Aoife’s mam Mary, Maggie Hynes, Pat Casey, Pateen Fahy and Vincy Lynskey, to name a few.

Of course, Aoife hadn’t brought the hurls and sliotar for nothing – so in her longest ever puck out, she blasted the sliotar through the rarified air, to the delight and wonder of some onlookers.

She also donated to the mountain, a special hurl made by the late Ardrahan hurley maker Paddy O’Dea with the name of her late uncle Vincy Lynskey of Ardrahan on it.

After many photos and with the sounds of a nearby avalanche and a snow storm, they spent just twenty minutes there, and decided to descend the now slippery route in minus 30 degrees of cold.

All through the descent, thoughts rushed through their heads, about the beauty, kindness and humanity of where they were, their achievement and of course getting home safely to their family and community.

The experience for both Gina and Aoife will make them stronger but also reinforce their focus on what's truly important in life such as love and family.

“The thoughts of my husband Alan Keane and children Caoife and Iarla along with my dad and all my family kept me going on an incredible difficult emotional and physical journey and that no matter how high you climb or far you run grief stays with you,” admits Aoife. “Family and your health is the most important thing in the world.”

Now back on terra firma, their thoughts turned to the highlights of a trip that will live with them forever.

The first was the obvious success of reaching where they intended – but the other was the joy they saw on the kids’ faces, in such a poor region, when they gave them colouring pencils and a colouring book.

Students and staff in Gort Community School had raised some money for this and had such fun and delight to see a video the two trekkers had recorded of school kids there, giving a Kathmandu chorus of thanks and greeting to the South Galway school.