We welcome the involvement of parents as partners in the education of their children and the co-operation and support of the wider community in delivering a quality teaching and learning experience for all.
We welcome the involvement of parents as partners in the education of their children and the co-operation and support of the wider community in delivering a quality teaching and learning experience for all.
An article by Shannon, one of our 5th years who was selected to participate in the Crean Challenge Expedition recently………
My name is Shannon Scully, and I’m a Venture Scout in 26th Galway, Kilcoona. Last year, I was selected for the prestigious Crean Challenge Expedition.
The Crean Challenge is, well, a challenge, where we spend 8 months hiking and training for an expedition in Iceland, following in the footsteps of Tom Crean. 32 scouts are handpicked from across Ireland to take part. My Crean journey started in April 2024 when I created a scouting CV and filmed a video explaining my experience for my application. In June I received an email telling me that I had been chosen. I was ecstatic!
We had our first training weekend at Larch Hill scout centre in Dublin. We met our patrols (I was in Red Patrol) and all the other participants. I was surprised that I was the only one from Galway, and indeed Connaught! We learned lots about navigation, mountain safety, and gear.
Our next training weekend was in late September, in Burncourt in Tipperary. We climbed the Galtees and practiced mountaineering skills.
Unfortunately due to Storm Bert we missed our third training weekend which was supposed to be in November in Lough Dan Scout Centre in Wicklow.
Finally, we met in Cronin’s Yard in January for our last training weekend before Iceland. We climbed Carrauntoohil and recieved our Crean fleeces and neckerchiefs!
The work did not stop at the training weekends. One of the biggest parts of the Crean Challenge was the logbook. We kept a detailed logbook of everything we did. We had to do four long training hikes separate to the group ones. I climbed the Maumturks, The 12 Bens, Leenaun Hill and the Nephins! We had to complete a Special Interest Badge Project and I decided to take up sidesaddle horseriding for it. I also completed a project on Icelandic Horses.
On the 14th of February, we met very early in Dublin Airport ready to fly to Iceland. Upon arrival we travelled to the Úlfljótsvatn scout centre (USU) where we stayed for the next six nights. Unfortunately during our time in Iceland we got no snow, but on our second night we got to see the most amazing Northern lights!!! They covered the whole sky and were so bright!
Another highlight of the trip was Culture Night! We ate traditional Icelandic foods such as sheep testicles, fermented shark, and lamb stew, and played some Icelandic games. Then we had a céilí and people played the bodhrán and tin whistle. Everyone had a really, really good time that night!
We did some more training hikes in Iceland before our big expedition on Wednesday. The night before the hike it started raining very heavily. When we awoke it was still raining. We had an extremely wet few hours of hiking. Unfortunately we never made it to the huts, as the river at the foot of Súlufell burst its banks and we had to abandon the hike. We were gutted, as we had been training months and months for this expedition.
We travelled to Reykjavik on Thursday and went for a really nice swim in a geothermal swimming pool. On Friday we got to explore the city which was super fun. We had our award ceremony that night with the Irish and Icelandic Chief Scouts.
We flew back to Ireland very early on Saturday morning and said our goodbyes to eachother. We all agreed to meet up again soon!
In June, I travelled back to Iceland and met up with the Icelandic scouts again! We had a great time hanging out in Reykjavik. Scouting really does introduce you to friends for life!
Last weekend, I attended the last training weekend to mentor this year’s participants. We climbed Carrauntoohil in the snow, and back at camp I got to tell them stories and give them advice for what to expect in Iceland. I’d like to wish Olwen Morrissey in TY the best of luck as she embarks on the final leg of this journey on the 13th of February!
Participating in the Crean Challenge was an absolutely incredible experience and I am so lucky to have gotten the chance to do it. I would encourage anyone interested in the outdoors to join Scouts and get the chance to take part in amazing adventures such as this. Thank you to all the people who organised this event, particularly Morgan O’Sullivan. Thank you.
