" Great things are done when man and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street."
                   - William Blake.

Conor O’Keeffe, our friend and captain of UCD Mountaineering Club died after a fall in Glendalough on Sunday 24 September 2000.  His passing has left a huge vacuum in our lives but Conor had such a strong spirit and was such an important part of what made the club tick that we have no shortage of happy memories with which to try to fill that void.

Conor had gone through many different hobbies in his life.  There was his short-lived golfing phase when, as a child, he asked for a few clubs to practice but soon realised that the nearest golf course wasn’t all that accessible.  And then there was his bird-watching phase, where he acquired a pair of binoculars and a nature book and went in search of rare species.  More recently, Conor got himself a unicycle and practiced diligently until he could actually stay on for a while – he even strapped the unicycle to the back of his rucksack and brought it on the club trip to Delphi Adventure Centre a few years ago!  Although there were many phases, one thing you cannot deny is that Conor threw himself whole-heartedly into each and every challenge he set himself.

With mountaineering, however, Conor had found a hobby that would be more than just a phase.  He was not only an enthusiastic hill-walker and highly competent navigator, who had completed a winter Lug Walk in great time, but he also had unlimited patience and a gift for passing on his skills and love of the mountains.  After hours and hours spent practicing on the indoor climbing wall in UCD, and a few goes seconding on various crags, Conor had dedicated this summer to learning to lead-climb outdoors.  He was as calm and competent at this as at anything else and had made huge progress, of which he was glowingly proud – as were we all.

Conor lived for the UCD Mountaineering Club.  He was loved by anyone who ever met him – you just couldn’t help liking the most genuine person around and the best hugger you’re ever likely to come across (even if he did insist on giving you a hug when you were warm and dry and he was dripping wet, still in his rain-gear!).  He had spent two years on the club committee as Meets Secretary, organising scores of day-hikes as well as great weekends away and successful trips to Kerry, Connemara and Wales.  This year, Conor had been uncontested for the position of Captain and, for the benefit of the club, had taken up a new hobby – woodwork!  He was determined to build a big wooden locker in which to keep all of the club gear safe and accounted for, having finally secured a space in the Sports Hall where he could put it.

So what happens now that Conor is gone?  When we think of Sunday 24 September we feel empty and sad.  However, there is no need to dwell on the sad, for Conor has left us so many great and happy memories – Conor the electronically-organised, ever prepared, Meets Sec extraordinaire; Conor the connoisseur, gear-expert and advocate of “the best”; Conor the mountain-man, Lug-walker and late-night talker; Captain Conor, king of hikes and camps and climbs and cuddles.  Conor our good friend – we miss you but we will never forget you.