And so it came to pass that the disciples of UCD Mountaineering Club foregathered in Dublin once again to celebrate the passing of their thirtieth year. And there was much feasting and merry-making and many a sore head in The Glen of the Two Lakes the next day. And it was good... Reading back over the various chapters in this history - both old and new certain themes keep recurring. Several writers make the point that the club has always been a "mountaineering" club in the widest sense. There has consistently been a core group of climbers but it has always striven to be inclusive. It is dangerous to name individuals for fear of leaving someone out but the way in which Paul Harrington was out bogtrotting with us a scant week after returning from doing hard things on the North Face of the Eiger speaks volumes. Hillwalking is less easy to quantify but the Sunday walk in Wicklow is still the bread and butter activity and many of our older members would have little difficulty in identifying with it. The 'hard-man' long walk survives among the ponies and boy-racers of today (although there can be advantages in being an old dog for the hard road when it comes to the finer points of route-finding).
On at least three occasions (1973,1982 and 1985) different groups of graduates who felt that a student club no longer suited their needs moved away from the club to do their own thing. One of these resulted in a new club - Club Cualann - being formed. This has grown and we are glad to welcome many of its members along onight. The Club that was founded in 1967 had as it's base a strong commitment to mountaineering married to an active social scene. It thrived upon being open to all comers and revelled in the mix of tenderfeet and old hands. As Seamus MacGearailt has put it, it is this sense of continuity and regeneration that has sustained UCD Mountaineering Club in the past, and will ensure that it continues to be one of the leading Clubs in the country in the future. Such a Club will never outgrow its roots.
Now read on...