Mountain Training Board Ireland

Kevin O'Callaghan - Chair

Kevin has had a lifelong interest in adventure and being in the outdoors. He initially worked as a geologist and geophysicist before bridging a space between interpreting and investigating landscapes, and training others in adventure skills. Kevin currently lectures in outdoor education at the Atlantic Technological University in Castlebar on the 

undergraduate and post-graduate outdoor education degree programmes. He has volunteered previously with MTBI, in addition to serving on the board of Mountaineering Ireland. He has also delivered training and syllabi development with other adventure sport National Governing Bodies.

Jacquelyn Moore - Vice Chair

Jacquelyn is a climbing coach based in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland, with over twenty years of experience in the sport. She enjoys various forms of climbing, including indoor, bouldering, sport, and trad. While she is relatively new to hillwalking, Jacquelyn is exploring this latest addition to her outdoor life with regular hikes up her local hill,

Knocklayd. Before her move to Northern Ireland, Jacquelyn was involved in the climbing gym industry in the United States. She is a member of the Coleraine Climbing Club. Jacquelyn is dedicated to supporting others in their outdoor pursuits while balancing the values of access and conservation. Jacquelyn joined MTBI in 2023, and also serves on Mountaineering Ireland's Board of Directors.

Alan Fairweather

Alan is originally from Scotland and has been living in Ireland for almost 20, during which time he has worked in Outdoor Education. He loves the outdoors and in particular the mountains. Alan feels privileged to be able to bring many people, young and older, to higher ground for education, training and enjoyment,

safely and responsibly. He has an interest in developing a greater appreciation and understanding of the value of being in the mountain environment for everyone. Alan would like to see more links made to training curricula tapping into our great natural resource which are our hills.

John O'Brien

John is a keen mountaineer and hillwalker who spends most of his free time on the Irish mountains. He is a qualified Mountain Leader and is working through the pathway to becoming a Winter Mountain Leader. John's day job is with the Irish Defence Forces where he is an active member of the Defence Forces Association of Mountaineers

(DFAM) and has previously been a chair of DFAM. John has climbed extensively in the Alps, as well as Jordan and the Peruvian Andes.

Jonny Parr

Jonny is a freelance Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor who splits his time between working in Ireland and Scotland. Based in Northern Ireland, Jonny first developed a passion for the mountains whilst hillwalking in the Mournes as a teenager. It was in the Mournes that he would later go on to cut his teeth as a rock climber whilst

studying at Queens University. A love of exploring outdoor spaces and sharing them with others eventually led Jonny down the path of outdoor instruction, and he has been working in the outdoors ever since. Jonny's passion for introducing people to the outdoors through high quality instruction and training contributed to his desire to join MTBI in 2023.

Claire Hardy

Claire grew up in the Mourne Mountains where she developed a lifelong appreciation of the outdoors. She started indoor climbing in university and soon found rock climbing outdoors, which combined well with her love for hillwalking. After university, Claire trained at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre as an Outdoor Instructor, after which she spent 10 years

working as a freelance outdoor instructor in the Mournes. She currently works full time in Tollymore National Outdoor Centre as a Youth Skills Outdoor Instructor, fostering a love for the outdoors in the youth of today. She recently gained her Mountain Skills providership and is currently working towards her Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor Assessment.

Ravit Yanay

Ravit has over 20 years of experience in designing and running training, development and change management programs for tech multinationals. She specialises in service and experience design, which includes communication, digital and physical design, content, and events. Ravit is currently undertaking a certification in sustainable design in the

Technological University of the Shannon. She is an outdoor enthusiast whose passions include long-distance hiking, rock climbing, snowboarding, and kayaking. Ravit is the Assistant Secretary of the Sneem Walking Club.

Brian Bateson

Brian provides instruction and guiding in rock-climbing, mountaineering and hill-walking. He is a qualified Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor, provider and assessor of Mountain Training qualifications and member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. Brian is passionate about outdoor instruction and passing on what he

has learned to other people. He wants to inspire people to realise their own dreams in the outdoors, to become self-sufficient, so that they can enjoy the freedom of the outdoors as much as he does.

Kieran O'Hara (Observer)

Kieran is the Head of Mountaineering at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre where he is responsible for the design and delivery of all the Hillwalking, Mountaineering and Climbing courses at the centre. He is also responsible for managing Tollymore’s Instructor Development scheme. Kieran grew up in Belfast before relocating to the north of England as a

teenager, where he started walking and camping in the hills with friends. He is qualified Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor (MCI) and International Mountain Leader, and he runs training and assessment for MCIs. His favourite places in the world are Alaska, the Sierra Nevada in California, Bolivia, and, of course, the Mournes.

John Cousins (Observer)

John Cousins is an observer to MTBI and is the Chief Executive of Mountain Training UK and Ireland. John’s involvement with Mountain Training stretches back over thirty years. He has particularly fond memories of the near biblical rainfall on the Donegal Mountain Leader assessment he observed that led to the integration of the Republic of Ireland’s separate

scheme; every single visit for work or play to Fairhead and the unfailingly special atmosphere every time MTUKI holds a meeting on the island of Ireland. John is an IFMGA Guide and a Winter Mountaineering Instructor who continues to seek out adventures in wild places having climbed, walked, paddled and ran in many corners of the world.

Jane Carney - Secretary

Jane has been an Outdoor Education and Science Teacher and Instructor for 30 years, and has been Mountaineering Ireland’s Training Officer for the last 10 years. She is a qualified Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Winter Mountain Leader, Summer Mountain Leader, and Rock Climbing Instructor. Jane was a trainer and assessor of all

Mountain Training Climbing and Walking Awards and Schemes for 15 years. She is the Chair of International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) Youth Innovation Panel and she is a UIAA Youth Commission member. Jane is a member of the board of Mountain Rescue Ireland.

Julie Carolan - Secretarial support

Julie joined the Mountaineering Ireland team in January 2024 as our new Training Administrator. Prior to joining Mountaineering Ireland, Julie divided her time between running her own small physical therapy and pilates business and looking after her young family. She was previously employed in the IT industry. Julie has always been a lover of sport and

the outdoors and keeps fit with jogging/walking, cycling and pilates. She also likes to spend time working in her garden.