UGMC has been in existence for over 50 years, established in 1970, making it one of Ireland’s oldest mountaineering clubs (known as UCGMC until 1998, and NUIGMC until 2022). The club is one of the most popular in the college, and one of the largest too, with a membership of over 1000 people.
We are open to ALL members of the University of Galway, undergraduates, postgraduates, staff and alumni. Find out how to join here.
Whether you are an international student, or were born and bred in Galway, taking part in club activities is a great way to get active, see the rugged beauty of Ireland, and meet some new people!
Club Activities
Hiking
We run hikes every Sunday during term time.
Hikes mainly take place in the beautiful mountains of Connemara, but we also sometimes venture out to The Burren, Nephin, and even Achill. Each week, we will split into groups of varying skill and fitness levels, so there will sure to be a group that suits you. We always try to pass on some knowledge about navigation, surroundings and local history to our walkers.
Get started hiking here
Climbing
Our home base on campus is the indoor climbing wall (affectionately known as ‘The Wall’) located in the Kingfisher Gym, where assessed climbers are free to climb during club hours. We have facilities to top-rope, lead climb, and boulder.
We run climbing lessons each week for beginners, where we teach the basics of climbing and belaying. After taking these lessons you will be eligible for an assessment.
When the weather is better, we organise outdoor climbing trips to the likes of The Burren or Dalkey.
Get started climbing here
Weekly Photo Competition
We run a weekly photo competition, where you can enter your best photos from your activities with the club that week. The winner earns themselves a free hiking ticket!
Submission is via Woobox, and the link will be provided via our Signal Groupchat/Instagram page each week.
Weekly Social Nights
Join us every Wednesday at 8pm in the Massimos, where club members get together for a bit of craic and maybe a pint while you’re at it!
There will always be a group walking from the Wall at around 7:40pm, so feel free to meet us there, or walk with us!
Trips
We organise a long-weekend club trip to a different part of Ireland once each semester. In the past we have visited places such as Kerry, Donegal, Wicklow, Tipperary and Northern Ireland. Sometimes, we go even further afield to the likes of Scotland, Wales and the Lake District.
These trips are serious craic, we usually book out a whole hostel, with the opportunity to hike or climb for the two days. There’s always an amount of partying involved too!
Most recently, we travelled up to Buncrana, Donegal in October 2022.
Check out our Instagram page for shots of this fantastic trip.
Note: to join us on any club trip, you must have either gone on 2 hikes with us, or passed your climbing assessment.
Mountaineering
The club strive towards technical and winter mountaineering. It’s in our name after all! For those members who are interested, we aim to train them in the basic skills here in Ireland before traveling further afield to Scotland, Wales or the Alps to practice their skills.
Talks and Training
We run regular evening talks throughout the year. The clubs run regular subsided training courses for it’s members such as RCI, MS2 and REC. Our club members aim to have the highest level of skill and qualifications and we do our best to support this.
Some more information on navigation training here
This is us here. We’re totally friendly!
If you wish to ask questions about anything, or you just want to say hello, don’t be afraid to get in touch. Come on down to the climbing wall or contact the committee by clicking here
