Family gives slice of €270k fund to tragic climber’s top charity
‘Generosity and kindness’
THE family of a father-oftwo who fell to his death hours after climbing Everest have donated a portion of the funds raised for the recovery of his remains to his favourite charity.
Séamus Lawless, 39, a professor of artificial intelligence at Trinity College Dublin, fell up to 500 metres after being swept away by a gust of wind during his descent from the mountain in May of last year.
He had wanted to climb Everest before his 40th birthday last July and raised €25,000 for Barretstown, a charity for seriously ill children and their families, as part of the effort.
A massive €268,808 was raised by the public to help in the search for Mr Lawless after his family appealed for help. His ruck-sack, crampons, goggles and broken oxygen mask were found but his body was never recovered.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Lawless’s wife Pamela and two children thanked all those who donated and outlined how the funds would be distributed. The family said: ‘Thanks to your help, the trekking company that carried out and coordinated the search for Shay on Mount Everest are being paid for their valiant efforts.
‘The funds from the campaign will be transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs, who will facilitate the payments for the costs incurred.
‘All miscellaneous and other costs associated with this tragedy will also be paid from the fund and a donation will be made to the Barretstown Children’s Charity that Shay held so close to his heart. The balance of funds will be placed in a trust fund for Shay’s children.’
Mr Lawless’s second child was born several months after his death. The eight-member expedition team was led by Noel
Hanna from Seven Summits Treks, who subsequently took over the search operation after scaling the mountain.
After spending three days recovering at Base Camp following his descent, Mr Hanna took part in the recovery operation, flying by helicopter to a number of the camps farther back up the mountain.
At the time, Mr Hanna said: ‘We spent hours searching for Shay. From where we found his rucksack we were able to pinpoint where he may have fallen but we could not find his remains.
‘Shay was in unbelievable form on Everest, laughing and singing and in a way solace can be taken from that. Everything slotted into place for him until he fell.’
It is believed the fall occurred as a result of a freak accident, when a gust of wind blew him off balance while he was unclipped from his safety harness.
In yesterday’s statement, the Lawless family thanked the public for their generosity and ongoing kindness and support.
‘We cannot thank everyone who contributed enough for their generosity, support and kindness through this terrible time. Although we did not manage to bring Shay home, your contribution to this campaign gave us the ability to at least try to locate him,’ they said.
‘We will miss him always. We are forever grateful.’
Two other Irishmen died last year while attempting hugely challenging climbs.
Galway man Kevin Hynes died on May 24 after he had descended several hundred metres from Everest, and Kildare native Alan Mahon died while climbing Russia’s Mount Elbrus.