Gareth Jones
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
10:30 – 12:30
Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
Gareth is a consultant Geologist who came to Ireland from Wales in 1962. He qualified from Queen’s University Belfast and did his Masters in Trinity College Dublin. He managed his geological consultancy Conodate working with microscopic fossils for mineral exploration, as well as consulting on geothermal energy, karst & caves and industrial minerals.
His personal hill walking history of over 60 years is interwoven with the history of Irish mountaineering. It encompasses Urdd Gobaith Cymru, An Óige, Irish Mountaineering Club, Spillikin Club and others. Gareth has been active in the hills, in Wales, Ireland, Europe and America. In the 1960s he was responsible for a new wave of rock-climbing development in Dalkey Quarry.
Gareth is the author of a number of articles on hill walking and rock climbing and worked with Joss Lynam reviewing books for Mountain Log. Recently he has produced a pictorial mountain memoir, Classic Mountain Days, this pictorial extravaganza illustrates over fifty walks from Wicklow to Kerry, from Clare to Mayo and from Donegal to Down. It also includes treks in Wales, Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden, Faroes, Iceland and the USA. In his book Gareth also notes the influence of geology on the landscape in a lay-friendly manner, which earned the book the Geological Survey of Ireland’s Geoheritage Award.
