Clare O'Leary facts for kids

Clare O'Leary is an amazing Irish doctor, mountain climber, and adventurer, born in 1972. She made history by becoming the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest. She also completed the incredible challenge of climbing the Seven Summits, which are the highest mountains on each continent!

Clare O'Leary's Adventures

Clare O'Leary is famous for her incredible journeys to some of the world's toughest places. She has climbed giant mountains and explored icy lands.

Conquering Mount Everest

In 2004, Clare achieved a huge dream: she became the first Irish woman to reach the very top of Mount Everest. This is the world's highest mountain! She had tried before in 2003 but had to stop because she felt unwell. Her successful climb was part of a team called the Wyeth Irish Everest Expedition.

Climbing the Seven Summits

Clare didn't stop at Everest. She also became the first Irish woman to climb Ama Dablam, another big mountain in the Himalayas. Even more impressively, she climbed the Seven Summits. These are the tallest mountains on each of the world's seven continents. It's a huge challenge that very few people complete!

Exploring the North and South Poles

Clare's adventures aren't just about mountains. In 2008, she joined an expedition to the South Pole. She became the first woman to successfully ski all the way to the South Pole!

Later, in 2012, Clare and fellow adventurer Mike O'Shea started a series of trips called the Ice Project. Their goal is to cross the biggest ice caps around the world. They have already crossed the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, the huge Greenland ice sheet, and even skied across Lake Baikal when it was frozen.

They also planned to ski to the North Pole in 2014. If they had succeeded, Clare would have been one of only a few women in the world to climb the Seven Summits and reach both the North and South Poles!

Special Recognition

Because of her amazing achievements, a walking path in County Cork was named the Dr Clare O'Leary Walk in 2013. In December 2020, she received the Mountaineering Ireland Lyman Medal. This award recognized all her incredible climbing and exploration work.

Clare O'Leary's Medical Career

Before her big adventures, Clare O'Leary focused on medicine.

Becoming a Doctor

Clare became interested in medicine, especially how to help people with serious illnesses, after a family member passed away from lung cancer when she was young. She studied at University College Cork. After graduating, she spent over ten years training and working at the Cork University Hospital.

Her Work Today

Today, Clare works as a specialist doctor called a gastroenterologist. This means she helps people with problems related to their stomach and digestion. She also works as a general physician at Tipperary University Hospital. She supports the Cork University Hospital Charity as well.

Life Outside Expeditions

Clare O'Leary lives in Clonmel. She is in a relationship with Mike O'Shea, who often joins her on her exciting expeditions.