There ain’t no mountain high enough for this pair

AS A record-breaking junior mountain climber, Sean McSharry takes the “what I did in the holidays” assignment to new levels.

The 11-year-old will share his experiences when he makes an appearance in Castleisland, Co. Kerry, on Sunday.

Providing the perfect inspiration to other children to break free from the sofa, ditch the video games and become more active, McSharry will be at the Castleisland Community Centre from 4pm to 6pm to give a free lecture and presentation with his godfather and fellow record-breaking adventurer Ian McKeever.

McSharry became the youngest European to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, when he reached the summit at the age of 10 earlier this summer, and having conquered Africa’s highest peak he will next month attempt Europe’s tallest mountain, Mount Elbrus in Russia.

McKeever, who accompanied his godson in Tanzania last year, is no slouch himself. The former AA Roadwatch presenter is the world record holder for climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks of each of the seven continents, and also for scaling the five peaks of Britain & Ireland.

McKeever is also the author of a highly successful book ‘Give Me Shelter’, published last December, in which he reflects on the personal journey he undertook before making his world record attempt of the Seven Summits.

The Wicklow man, 37, achieved his feat by climbing Antarctica’s Mount Vinson, South America’s Aconcagua, Africa’s Kilimanjaro, Oceania’s Carstenz Pyramid, Asia’s Mount Everest, Europe’s Mount Elbrus and North America’s Denali, otherwise known as Mount McKinley, in 155 days in 2007, beating Canada’s Daniel Griffiths’ previous record by 32 days.

McKeever then set about breaking the second Seven Summits world record by climbing Snowy Mountain, Australia’s highest peak, rather than Oceania’s Carstenz in Indonesia, to beat the existing mark of 172 days held by India’s Mabu Mali. That made him the first person to hold both records simultaneously as well as the honour of completing the faster “eight summits”.

McKeever’s other milestones include the speed ascent record for 35,000 feet, which involved climbing Croagh Patrick seven times in 17 hours, the speed ascent record for 26 peaks of Ireland, north and south, completed in 98 hours, 45 minutes and the world record for Britain and Ireland’s Five Peaks, completed on June 25, 2004 in 16 hours, 16 minutes.

He returned to Kilimanjaro in May with McSharry, first training his godson, then guiding the 10-year-old Dubliner to the snow-capped summit in north-eastern Tanzania. And the intrepid duo will reconvene in Russia on September 12, when Sean attempts to become the youngest person to scale Europe’s highest peak.

McKeever is also preparing to release a documentary of his Seven Summit record entitled ‘Give Me Shelter’ before his next record attempt. Next June, he will bid to break the world’s longest-standing maritime record, set in 1896, by rowing from New York to the Scilly Isles in less than 55 days.

Both McKeever and McSharry are giving their time for free this weekend as Castleisland Community Centre attempts to give something back to the community following support of a fundraising campaign to fully rebuild, redevelop and refurbish their facilities.

Since 2001 the centre has seen the addition of a new roof and floors as well as two major extensions, one housing a new reception area, coffee shop and changing rooms, the other providing training rooms and offices that facilitate adult education training classes and a youth project.

On Sunday, the centre also hopes to raffle two copies of McKeever’s book, autographed by both adventurers, with the proceeds going to assist McSharry’s Mount Elbrus expedition.

While the presentation is free, those wishing to attend are asked to ring in advance and book seats to give organisers an idea of numbers at what they hope will be a very popular event.

Tel no: 066-7141506 or email [e-mail]