Irish Mountaineering Club

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The Irish Mountaineering Club (in Irish, Cumann Sléibhteoireachta na hÉireann, usually called "The IMC") is a mountaineering club whose activities include climbing. The club has over 200 members.[citation needed]

History

The IMC was founded in 1942 by Bill Perrott and a group of other climbers in south Dublin, within easy reach of

The Scalp, Bray Head, and Ireland's Eye; these were the first steps in the development of climbing in Ireland.[citation needed] This group, now known as "The Old IMC", disbanded in 1944.[citation needed
]

In 1948, the IMC was revived on a more formal basis by Perrott, Joss Lynam, and others, with the intention that it become a national club drawing its membership from all around Ireland, with local branches in the major cities. The first president was the naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger.[1]

During the 1950s branches of the IMC were established in Dublin and Belfast, and one for the "Wild Geese", Irish emigrants living abroad. In 1957, with the aid of a grant from the Guinness brewing company, the club purchased a farmhouse at Glendasan, near Glendalough, County Wicklow, and converted it into a mountain hut, to be run by the Dublin section. Later another hut (called the "Bloat House") was established in the Annalong valley in the Mourne Mountains in County Down; this was to be run by the Belfast section.[citation needed]

The increasing affluence of the 1960s saw the emergence of other mountaineering clubs in Ireland, and the IMC's dominance began to weaken.[

Mountaineering Council of Ireland (MCI), now Mountaineering Ireland) was formed,[2] which ended the IMC's national aspirations. The struggling Belfast section was finally dissolved in 1991, two years after the Bloat House burnt down resulting in several serious injuries.[citation needed
]

Activities

The IMC Hut

The IMC operates a programme of activities throughout the year.[

hillwalking, ice climbing abroad, and rock climbing both at home and in sunnier climes in Europe and beyond.[citation needed
]

The club's hut (called "The IMC Hut") is located in Glendasan, in the Wicklow Mountains and within walking distance of the popular crag at Glendalough. Its main use now is to serve as accommodation for pre-booked groups.[citation needed]

See also

Notable members

References and sources

Notes
  1. ^ "Past Presidents: Irish Mountaineering Club presidents through the years". Irish Mountaineering Club. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. ^ "History of Mountaineering Ireland". Mountaineering Ireland. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
Sources
  • IMC50: The Golden Jubilee of the Irish Mountaineering Club 1948-1998, edited by J. Lynam and P. O'Neill (IMC, 1998)

External links

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