puck fair 2004puck fair 2004 The Laune Mountaineering Club established in 1966 is one of oldest walking clubs in County Kerry. We have a large and active membership and have scheduled walks every second Sunday. Our walks are mainly in the Kerry area but we try and fit in a weekend away to another part of the country during the year as well.

Members from other MCI clubs are always welcome to join us on our walks and we are keen to grow our membership. If you are interested in joining, an application form is available for download or you can contact us for more information.


The First 25 Years!

The Yellow Submarine 1969The formation of the club in 1966, coincided with the foundation of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team and for many years was a "feeder" for the Team. For some 25 years, the Team and the Club were almost synonymous. Members did valiant service on rescues and searches, in training and fundraising. The commitment got tangible expression in the construction in Killorglin of the first purpose-built mountain rescue station in the country.

If only to be good Mountain Rescue Team members, familiarity with the hills in the southwest was essential and weekly walks/climbs saw to that. The enjoyment meant that other areas had to be explored and Easter Camps regularly took members to Connemara, the Comeraghs, the Galtees and Beara. A motoring trip to Austria was organised very early on. Club members were among the first batch of qualified Mountain Leaders in Ireland and there was a strong commitment to mountaineering nationally, providing the founding chairman of FMCI, now MCI (Mountaineering Council of Ireland).

Members helped with adventure training and were active in the early development of orienteering in the country. A visit to Tolleymore (Northern Ireland) led to the conception of what now is the Cappanalea Outdoor Education Centre. The Club put up the deposit for the 55-acre site on which the Centre stands. Organising a number of National Adventure Meets promoted the Cappanalea project and introduced sports people from all over Ireland to the area and to one another's activities - canoeing, orienteering, hillwalking, rock climbing, surfing, etc. The annual MacGillycuddy's Reeks Climb, organised with the other Kerry clubs, also allowed walkers from throughout the country to sample high ridge climbing in controlled conditions, something that was needed before clubs acquired trained and experienced leaders.