DCU honours the memory of Ger McDonnell – heroic K2 climber

Ger McDonnell – heroic K2 climber

There are many examples of DCU students who go on to achieve amazing things after they graduate. A recent notable case in point is Gerard McDonnell, the Limerick-born mountain climber who in August 2008 became the first Irish person to reach the summit of K2. Gerard, a member of the 1993 graduating class of the University's Electronic Engineering degree programme, worked for Glacier Service inc. in Alaska, but was best known as one of Ireland's foremost mountaineers. His achievements in this arena were substantial. In 2003 he became the 4th Irishman ever to successfully scale Mount Everest and he was a team leader in an Antarctic expedition in honour of those other great Irish explorers, Shackelton and Crean. In 1999 he was honoured within the international mountain climbing community with the award of the prestigious Denali Pin for an act of heroism on Mount McKinley in Alaska where he led other climbers to safety at no small risk to himself.

Tragically, during his descent of K2, Ger was involved in a fatal accident while attempting to save the lives of three fellow climbers, in the single worst accident in the history of K2 mountaineering. Gerard is remembered by all who knew him as warm, loving, brave and above all heroic.

To celebrate his life and achievements, the Electronic Engineering classes of 1992 and 1993 are working with the School of Electronic Engineering and DCU's Educational Trust to set up a memorial scholarship fund in his honour.

The objective is to create a permanently endowed scholarship fund that will be run as part of the University's access programme. The DCU Access Scholarship Programme was introduced 18 years ago to provide talented students with the opportunity of a third level education, which their circumstances did not otherwise allow.

"One of the reasons Ger was so well known and respected by so many people was because of his commitment to helping others", said Fiona McDonnell, a class mate of Ger's during his time in DCU. "It's fitting that he be remembered within DCU by an Access Scholarship that can help someone else", she adds.

Dr Noel Murphy, Head, School of Electronic Engineering, said, "We are proud of all of our graduates of course, but Gerard in particular is a fantastic example of the kind of contributions our graduates can make to society at large".

Gerard's class mates are raising funds to ensure a permanently endowed scholarship, with a view to having this is in place for the next academic year. Those wishing to know more or to contribute should contact:

Ms Claire Whelehan, DCU Educational Trust, Tel: +353 1 700 8639, E-mail: claire.whelehan@dcu.ie

Alternatively, donations can also be made online at:

http://www.dcu.ie/trust/gift.shtml