Pat Falvey – Explorer | Entrepreneur | Author | Mentor
Pat Falvey is an internationally acclaimed adventurer, author, inspirational speaker, and corporate mentor. Born and raised in Cork city, he is Ireland’s best-known adventurer and the first person in the world to complete the Seven Summits twice by climbing Mount Everest from both its north and south sides. He has led some of the most ambitious expeditions undertaken by an Irish team, including the first Irish-led expedition to reach the South Pole, standing at the North Pole, skiing across the Greenland Ice Cap, and leading the largest-ever team to complete the legendary South Georgia traverse – the route made famous by Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean.
Across a lifetime of exploration, Pat has travelled to the most remote and extreme regions on Earth, where he has lived with and studied over 30 tribes and cultures. Through these encounters he has gained unique insight into the mindset, resilience, and human drivers that shape all of mankind.
Humble Beginnings
Pat’s life as an entrepreneur began at just seven years of age when his grandmother, Mary B. O’Callaghan, bought him a baby pram to collect second-hand clothes for resale. Never short on initiative, young Pat used the pram to collect turf from a local coal merchant and sold kindling from his father’s building yard to elderly neighbours. By the age of 10, he was the wealthiest child in his area and already running a thriving business.
A Hunger for Success
Driven by a dream to become a millionaire, Pat left school at 15 and began working as a bricklayer. With guidance from his father, he built his first construction business before the age of 17, employing over 20 people. By 18, he was a property developer building more than 200 houses a year and by 23 he had achieved his goal—he was a millionaire.
Success came fast. Pat became one of Ireland’s leading young entrepreneurs until, at 29, Ireland entered a deep recession. Overtrading and tightening cashflow forced his businesses to collapse. The banks withdrew their support, and Pat lost everything.
The experience was traumatic and for a period he struggled with depression and a loss of self-confidence. But with support from family, friends, and the wider business community, he began to rebuild. He launched a finance company, restarted his construction and property firms, and by 40 he had regained his stability—only this time he was ready for a different kind of life.
A New Beginning: The Birth of an Adventurer
To relieve the pressure of rebuilding his life, Pat took up hillwalking. His second climb—Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain—lit a spark that changed everything. Standing at the summit, he turned to a friend and declared with certainty that he would climb Mount Everest. Most people laughed. But Pat knew that the path of adventure had captured him completely.
Drawing on the discipline and resilience he had developed in business, he trained relentlessly, honed his technical skills, and joined Kerry Mountain Rescue to perfect his craft. His determination transformed him from an amateur hillwalker into a world-class mountaineer and expedition leader.
A Journey of Adventure
From the depths of recession to the summit of the world, Pat rebuilt his confidence and carved out a career unlike any other. He crossed glaciers, deserts, mountains, and jungles, leading expeditions on every continent. His achievements include:
Four expeditions to Mount Everest, summiting twice
Completing the Seven Summits twice – the first person in the world to do so
Crossing Antarctica to the South Pole
Traversing the Greenland Ice Cap
Leading the largest team to complete the South Georgia traverse
Countless other life-defining expeditions across some of the planet’s harshest wilderness regions
The Exploration of Man
Beyond the physical challenges, Pat has long been fascinated by the human spirit. He has lived with tribes in Africa, the Arctic, South America, and the jungles of West Papua New Guinea. Through these experiences he has explored what drives us—our need to challenge ourselves, to change, to grow, and to set and achieve goals. His study of tribal mindsets helped shape his teaching on leadership, resilience, and human potential.
Entrepreneurship & Business Leadership
Long before he became known as an adventurer, Pat was a seasoned entrepreneur. Over the decades, he has established successful businesses across:
Property development & construction
Finance & insurance
Auctioneering
Adventure tourism
Film production
Corporate mentoring
Team performance coaching
His life story—rags to riches, loss and reinvention, success and failure—gives him rare insight into both the business world and the human condition.
Author, Mentor, and Corporate Speaker
Pat is the author of five books, including the best-selling You Have The Power: Explore the Mindset You Need to Realise Your Dreams. His presentations, programmes, and courses draw on his unique blend of business expertise, expedition leadership, and lived experience of overcoming adversity.
Pat firmly believes that we are all ordinary people capable of extraordinary achievements. It is not who we are, he says, but what we do that defines us.
The Future
Never one to stand still, Pat continues to build businesses, lead expeditions, and inspire individuals and organisations worldwide. His passion for people, places, wildlife, and the pursuit of potential remains as strong today as it was on the day he pushed that baby pram around Cork city.