{"id":2682,"date":"2026-08-16T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=2682"},"modified":"2026-08-12T13:11:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T12:11:01","slug":"a-drogheda-electrician-retrained-as-a-mountain-guide-in-connemara-and-now-works-six-months-a-year-%ca%bci-earn-less-and-i-sleep%ca%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/a-drogheda-electrician-retrained-as-a-mountain-guide-in-connemara-and-now-works-six-months-a-year-%ca%bci-earn-less-and-i-sleep%ca%bc\/","title":{"rendered":"A Drogheda electrician retrained as a mountain guide in Connemara and now works six months a year \u2014 \u02bcI earn less and I sleep\u02bc"},"content":{"rendered":"

He used to end his days staring at a fuse board<\/strong>, not a horizon. Now his calendar is split by weather<\/strong> rather than weeks, and his alarm is the first gulls over Roundstone<\/strong>. Somewhere between a wet November on the Boyne<\/strong> and a bright June on the Twelve Bens<\/strong>, a Drogheda electrician changed his wiring<\/strong>\u2014inside and out.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From circuits to cairns<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The decision didn\u2019t arrive with a bang<\/strong> but with a fray<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019d finish a job at nine, check emails till midnight, then lie awake with a hum<\/strong> in my head,\u201d he says. \u201cOne day I realised the noise<\/strong> wasn\u2019t the site\u2014it was me.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He booked a weekend in Connemara<\/strong>, wandered a bog road<\/strong> near Recess, and followed a faint line of sheep<\/strong> to a summit cairn. \u201cUp there I felt the static<\/strong> drop. I thought: if I can read wiring<\/strong> diagrams, I can learn to read contours<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Learning the high ground<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Retraining wasn\u2019t a romantic stroll<\/strong>. He took mountain leadership courses<\/strong>, learned to gauge wind on ridges<\/strong>, and to spot the sly glimmer of black ice<\/strong> under cloud. Nights were spent poring over maps<\/strong> like blueprints, tracing lines through the Maumturks the way he once traced a circuit<\/strong> across a board.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hands used to smell of solder<\/strong>,\u201d he laughs. \u201cNow they smell of bog myrtle<\/strong> and wet rope. It\u2019s a better kind of stubborn<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Seasonal work, deliberate life<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Today he works six months<\/strong> on, six months off<\/strong>. April to September he guides small groups<\/strong> through quartzite scree, lough-side paths<\/strong>, and ridge lines that stitch sea to sky<\/strong>. The winters he keeps for rest<\/strong>, family, and the slow maintenance of a life that doesn\u2019t rush<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI earn less and I sleep<\/strong>,\u201d he says, smiling at his own maths<\/strong>. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole equation<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What the mountains teach<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Guiding, he says, is mostly about listening<\/strong>\u2014to the weather<\/strong>, to the pace of a group, to the story a bootprint tells on wet peat<\/strong>. The hill offers blunt feedback<\/strong>. Push too fast and someone will fade<\/strong>. Ignore a front and you\u2019ll learn humility<\/strong> in fifteen minutes of cold rain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe land is an instructor<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cThe summits don\u2019t care about our plans<\/strong>. They make better ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Connemara, up close<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

He speaks of places as if naming friends<\/strong>. A slant of light over Derryclare<\/strong>, the bite of a north wind above M\u00e1m \u00c9an<\/strong>, the blue knife<\/strong> of Killary at low tide. He keeps his routes like a playlist<\/strong>\u2014familiar, but tailored to the day\u2019s mood<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For first-timers he picks a modest peak<\/strong> with big views, a route that rewards<\/strong> curiosity. For repeat walkers<\/strong>, he threads uneven corries<\/strong> or quiet saddle crossings where ravens draft on thermals<\/strong> and the sea sits like a folded letter<\/strong> at the edge.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why he changed<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • Burnout from on-call<\/strong> jobs and endless invoices<\/strong><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • A pull toward wild<\/strong> places that felt like coming home<\/strong><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • The wish to set a human pace<\/strong> against an inhuman clock<\/strong><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • A quieter mind, and actual sleep<\/strong> at night<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The money question<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    There\u2019s no diagram that makes the figures<\/strong> glow. \u201cI turned down predictable pay<\/strong> for unpredictable weather<\/strong>,\u201d he admits. Summer\u2019s a harvest<\/strong>; winter\u2019s a ledger of savings<\/strong>, odd jobs, and a little map work<\/strong>. But the swap feels clean<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat I lost in wage<\/strong>, I gained in hours<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cNot just free time<\/strong>\u2014living time, the kind that doesn\u2019t buzz<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Risk and responsibility<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He carries a muted authority<\/strong>. In his pack: spare gloves<\/strong>, a group shelter, a coil of cord<\/strong>, too many bars. On his phone: grids and bearings<\/strong>, a quiet set of contingencies<\/strong>. He drills simple habits<\/strong>\u2014sip before thirsty, add a layer<\/strong> before cold, ask questions before silence<\/strong> sets in.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cThe job is keeping people a half-step from trouble<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cThey think they\u2019ve hired a guide<\/strong>; really they\u2019ve hired a margin<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Clients and small miracles<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He lights up telling small stories<\/strong>. A retired nurse who cried at her first view<\/strong> of Inishbofin. A teenager who started the day scowling at his phone<\/strong> and ended naming peaks<\/strong> like they were new planets<\/strong>. A father who carried his fear of heights<\/strong> to a windless col, then set it down like a bag he was tired of holding<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cI love the moment someone notices their breath<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cNot the panting\u2014just the quiet<\/strong> rhythm, like the sea in your chest<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Home, remapped<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He still visits Drogheda<\/strong>, still pockets a few winter call-outs<\/strong> for old clients, fixing a tripped breaker<\/strong> or a grumpy immersion<\/strong>. But home now is a narrow road<\/strong> under a wide sky<\/strong>, a porch with salt on the rail<\/strong>, and boots drying beside a hissing stove<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    On certain evenings the hills go purple<\/strong>, and he stands outside with a mug too hot<\/strong> to hold. The valley settles, sheep stitch neat lines<\/strong>, and the last light pulls a soft thread<\/strong> across the Bens. \u201cIt\u2019s not a perfect life<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a chosen<\/strong> one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2695,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682\/revisions\/2695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}