"Ian McKeever’s achievement is up there with those of Shackleton and Crean" Grainne Willis, The Irish Times.
In the late 1990s, Ian McKeever was best known for his off-the-cuff AA Roadwatch traffic reports on Today FM and for cycling every Christmas for an entire decade dressed as Santa Claus in support of good causes. Few could have predicated what might follow, least of all Ian himself…
On 30 June 2007, Ian – who had never previously stepped on ice, rock climbed or been to altitude – turned the world of mountaineering on its head when he smashed the world record for the physically and mentally draining Seven Summits Challenge, achieving an incredible completion time of 155 days. It signified one of the great sporting achievements by any Irish person on the world stage. His book "Give me shelter" will be available to buy at the talks in the NGI seminar arena.
The ‘potential within’ is the story of his roller-coaster journey, from the literal bottom of the world to the very top of Everest. It is the story of one ordinary Irishman who never quit and who stopped at nothing to realise his true potential in life… and how, in the process, he learned to overcome the demons in his head, which had haunted him from childhood.
The Broccoli Kid - Dream a little dream…
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Dream a little dream…
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For most children growing up, thoughts of becoming a budding football star or famous actor might seem completely natural. For one Irish ten year old however, Sean Mc Sharry (from Stillorgan in Dublin), his thoughts are firmly fixed elsewhere…
On the 24th of April he flies to Africa in the hope of becoming the youngest person to ever climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, which lies in northeast Tanzania near the Kenya border and rises in two snow-capped peaks to a height of 5,898.m (19,340 ft).
He is being guided in his quest by his God father Ian mc Keever who last year broke the world record for the seven summits challenge by climbing each of the continents highest peaks in the fastest possible time. He took an incredible 32 days off the previous record (155 days). Ian has already climbed Kilimanjaro himself as his third of the seven peaks. Sean is also being mentored by Harry Moore aged 17, a 5th year from Terenure College, who also plays on the wing for the senior cup rugby team. For young Sean this is a dream come true, ‘Last year I got to climb to the top of Carrountohill when I was 9. Ian had just come home from Everest and took me up. I really enjoyed climbing it. I asked my Godfather if he thought I could climb any higher. He told me if I really wanted to do it and didn’t mind training really, really hard then I could do anything I wanted to, as long as I could see it in my head first ’
For the past three months Sean has been put through his paces in a rigorous training programme which first of all involved him changing his diet and eating habits ‘ They call me the broccoli kid’ in school’, he smiles. Sean goes to Carrysfort national school in Blackrock and his class mates have noticed some changes. Sean is happy so far with what’s been happening to him ‘I’ve lost my tummy, am much fitter now and can run much faster playing football now, which is really cool’. Eating lots and lots of green vegetables, increasing his iron content and cutting out the sweets has been just part of the story. 5 days a week he trains with his Godfather at becoming fitter and working hard in the Wicklow Mountains. Mc Keever believes success begins with the right attitude. ‘Attitude before skill, always! Not that Sean lacks any amount of talent. He’s an incredible kid who even at a young age appreciates that you have to put the work for anything you want in this life. Having Harry on board is real bonus. He’s incredibly fit, but more importantly he’s attentive to Sean and hugely supportive. They get on great and we’re a team ’
Moore’s involvement in this challenge is a direct result of an impressive programme being developed in Terenure College by Padraig Forde who coaches the senior rugby team ‘we’ve been working with Ian on developing a leadership programme for the players, teaching them how to take responsibility, how to lead on the pitch by example and generally become more rounded individuals overall. Ian came into speak with the players earlier this year and his talk had a huge impact on them’
Results have been highly impressive. In the 1st round of the senior cup Terenure came within a hairs breath of beating the eventual champions Belvedere College only to be denied in the 6th minute of stoppage time. Sean himself has shaved almost ten minutes of his climbing times on Camaderry hill in Glendalough, the training ground, which Mc keever believes holds the key to his ultimate success or failure. Replicating the effects of altitude on the human heart is best served here. If you can climb this hill efficiently, which slopes at a 45 degree angle then in principal you can climb any mountain in the world! Mc Keever believes. He should know after all…
People can log onto the website www.takemehigher.ie to see how the three of them perform in the coming weeks