Mountaineering Ireland Lynam Award 2025 - Seán Villanueva O’Driscoll

Mountaineering Ireland is delighted to announce that Seán Villanueva O’Driscoll will be the recipient of the 2025 Lynam Award!

Seán Villanueva O’Driscoll is a world-renowned climber and alpinist, celebrated for his daring ascents and bold explorations of some of the world’s most remote and challenging mountain ranges.

Best known for his groundbreaking climbs in Patagonia, Seán’s most notable achievement came in 2021 with his solo ascent of the Fitz Roy Traverse, a monumental 5 km-rugged ridgeline in Southern Patagonian.

Beyond his physical accomplishments, Seán is known for his humility, humor, and joyful approach to climbing, often documenting his adventures in videos that capture his light-hearted spirit.

His unique combination of skill, creativity, and philosophy has earned him a place among the most respected and admired climbers of his generation.

In 2024 he was part of the first team-free ascent of Riders On The Storm 7c+ 1300m Patagonia, he completed a stunning solo traverse of the Paine Towers with his skyline traverse named Travesía Doble M (5.11 A2; 2,200m) and he was part of the team to put up a first ascent on the massive Mirror Wall in Greenland with "Ryu Shin" 8b/A2 1000m.

The event will take place in the Chartered Accountants Ireland Lecture Hall, 47-49 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, on Thursday 11th December. Doors open at 6.30pm, and we recommend getting there early in order to get seating, and to enjoy some refreshments prior to the lecture. The lecture will commence at 7.30pm.

You won’t want to miss this! We hope you can join us for an evening of stories, insights and inspiration!