Waterford proud of Adam, youngest Irish person to summit Mount Everest
Adam Sweeney (left) on Mount Everest with a fellow mountaineer. Photo from Adam Sweeney's social media.
Adam Sweeney, a 22-year-old Dunmore East native, has accomplished his goal of becoming the youngest Irish person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
He completed this awe-inspiring feat alongside former Mayo inter-county footballer Padraig O’Hara, professional mountaineer and K2 summiter Jason Black, and Éanna McGowan. This is the first Irish team to summit the world's highest mountain in 20 years.
Adam's mother Karen Harris spoke to the about her youngest son's achievement.
"It's just such a relief," she said, "He's the baby of the family."
Karen said that it was touch and go as to whether the group would be able to reach their goal between unusually bad weather and several team members falling ill.
The group spent 24-hours in camp four known as the "death zone", due to the low levels of oxygen at this height, the digestive system stops working and people are at a very high risk of suffering from frostbite. Karen said, "Everything was against them, but they persevered."
When asked how she felt about her son doing something so dangerous, Karen said, "We're an adventurous family, it's in our DNA. We supported him one hundred per cent."
She said she knew her son had gone through "brutal training" and was well prepared for what faced him. That didn't stop her from worrying, though, "It's hard to say goodbye to your youngest son at the airport. I knew he wouldn't come away without getting to the top, which was a little bit worrying in a way."
She said the entirety of the Dunmore East village "are experts" now on all things Mount Everest. Karen is involved in volunteering with the lifeboats in Dunmore, and she said fellow volunteers told her to, "Ring us at 3am, ring us any time", when Adam reached the summit of Everest.
People in Waterford have taken to Adam's social media page to wish him well, with people commenting they are "bursting with pride" and that it was his "sheer determination" that earned him his place in history.
The first thing Karen is going to do when Adam gets home is make him a big roast dinner with chicken and potatoes.
"I've seen pictures of him and he's so thin. I need to bulk him up when he gets home," she said.
