CULANN (10) IS SUMMIT ELSE...
Schoolboy is youngest Irish person to scale Kilimanjaro
AN IRISH schoolboy made history when he climbed Kilimanjaro — and achieved a dream that he has had since he was just five years old.
Culann Conroy (10) became the youngest Irish person ever last month to reach the top of Africa’s highest mountain.
Mount Kilimanjaro, which is in Tanzania, is 5,895 metres above sea level and is six times taller than Ireland’s highest mountain Carrauntoohil in Co Kerry.
Culann, from Knocknacarra in Co Galway, achieved the record-breaking summit on March 21.
He climbed to the peak with his dad Peter and brother Aaron (13).
His proud father Peter revealed that they trained for the climb of Kilimanjaro by herding sheep on steep slopes in Connemara.
He said: “He’d be five years old and when you try to put him to bed, he goes, ‘I can try and climb Kilimanjaro when I’m 10’.
“You think, ‘Oh, no problem, just go to sleep’.
“But he was relentless since he was five. And then he turned 10 in November and insisted we do it.”
Peter added: “I bring the two of them with me [to herd sheep] and then I’d see six or seven sheep halfway down the mountain.
“So I tell them to go back down and turn around and bring the other sheep up. It really built up that resilience in their heads.”
Push
Peter revealed that the Kilimanjaro climb pushed Culann to his limits — but his son was determined to make it to the top.
He said: “We got near Stella Point, which is quite high up, and it’s a place where a lot of people will turn back.
“You either give up or go deep in the gut to find that extra bit of push.
“Culann was freezing and weak as water and he came over and put his arms around me and said, ‘I’m so happy Dad’.
“The fight that was in them was incredible and we pushed on.”
Culann, who was part of a Jason Black Mountaineering expedition climbing group, is six months younger than the previous youngest Irish person to scale the mountain.
That was Dubliner Sean McSharry who was also 10 when made the trip in 2008.
A climber on the Jason Black expedition said: “Culann powered up the mountain and it was a sight to savour how easy he made the climb.
“I’d love to get him some kudos and exposure for his achievement.
“It is not an easy trek over seven days for anyone, with fitness, altitude and a need for strong mental strength all at play.”