THIS MORNING we were up at 6.30am to get the ferry from Inishbofin. I’m with a group of 13 Israelis, all of whom were up until 1.30am, listening to music in a pub.
Yesterday they were delighted to be out in a rainstorm, at first. They said the rain we got on the island yesterday was equivalent to a tenth of their annual rainfall back home. By lunchtime, though, they were soaked through and a bit miserable.
We have just arrived in Letterfrack and left off our gear. We stay in self-catering accommodation. Sometimes it’s BBs, sometimes hostels. It’s an itinerary with a fairly tight budget.
I used to work in IT, but it was doing my head in, so about three and a half years ago I put up the website, just to see what would happen. I started to get bookings while I was still working, so I knew I was on to something.
I’ll go now and buy cheese, ham and rolls for our picnic lunch. I carry a group shelter in my bag – a light tent that holds 15 people – and if the weather’s bad we’ll eat in there.
We run mainly hiking tours, but every second day we have an option to do something like kayaking, rock climbing or horse riding. Today we’re going up Garraun and Ben Choona, so we’ll be walking for five to six hours.
Most have trekked before, but everyone’s a novice when it comes to Irish hillwalking. They see a bog and they panic, because they think it’s quicksand. Most of our walks are off track, because people come on our tours to get away from everything.
My first mountain was Croagh Patrick, when I was 11 or 12. My family were into mountain running, so I did a lot of hillwalking as a kid. It was only when I was in my 20s and working in IT that I started to get passionate about it. Even if I’m up the same mountain 30 times I still look forward to getting to the top and still say wow to myself when I get there.
We’ll be back at the house by around 5pm and will shower and head down to the pub before dinner. We have 12 guides, and I tell all of them they have to go out and mix with the tours at night, as people want to talk to an Irish person while they are here.
Every group is different, and the questions they ask you are different, so I’m always trying to read up on places in my spare time.
I’ve never had a bad group. I think being out in the fresh air and doing physical exercise is very therapeutic. Most people we get are in a good mood anyway, because they’re on their holidays.
Keith McDonnell is the founder of Extreme Ireland
In conversation with Sandr O'Connell
