Expedition Name (& Club): SMCC Ireland Expedition (SMCC)

Destination country: Ireland
Region: Fermanagh/Sligo/Cavan

Lat: 54.2396 Long: -7.9102 Elevation: 186 m
MEF funding: none

Leader: Mr. Alexander Hannam

Brief Expedition objectives:

List a short summary of the main Expedition objectives.

Digging of leads identified by expedition members in summer 2021 (as part of the joint CUCC/Shannon Group expedition).
Return to dive Hammer Pot, and if time permits Shannon Pot, which were worked on in summer 2021.
Give new members of SMCC expedition experience, with some members having their first expedition here.
All new discoveries will be photographed and surveyed, with findings of the expedition shared with local cavers, thereby contributing towards the new edition of the guidebook COFAC (Caves of Fernanagh and Cavan). In addition a full expedition report will appear in the SMCC Journal.

How can the GPF support your Expedition?:

Please explain the aspects of the trip which make it eligible for Ghar Parau funding.

I feel that the aims of the expedition are aligned with the aims of the Ghar Parau Fondation, with the primary objectives to discover new cave and to provide young new cavers with expedition experience.
Grant aid would be used to purchase equipment needed for the exploration of the caves; a focus on digging equipment, along with rope, hangers and other consumables.

Detailed description of objectives:

Give a more detailed account of the purpose of the trip, including any particular known caves you intend to visit, specific areas where you will explore for new cave, and scientific experiments you will attempt.

In terms of available leads the focus will be following up on leads identified and worked upon in 2021.
Part of the expedition team dug open a cave entrance, now thought to be Revolution Pot, a cave described in Caves of Fermanagh and Cavan, but apparently lost and filled in with soil. It is a promising dig, high on the northern flank of Cuilcagh mountain, with little known cave in the vicinity.
A stream sink nearby was also identified as a potential lead.

A local caver also identified several leads in the region around the Hoo caving hut, often requiring some limited enlargement of passage using capping or plug and feathers, to apparent larger passage beyond. Since returning we have also been tipped off about an old SMCC then BEC dig in the Cuilcagh area, which needs a return visit.

Mike will endeavour to dive Hammer Pot, which was pushed by the team in 2021, requiring some digging and passage enlargement to get dive equipment to the dive site. Mike dived it in 2021 (CDG NL, 222), and felt there was more to do in the submerged cave. If time and weather consditions allow, a dive of sumps in Shannon Pot will be attempted.

The expedition also aims to give new cavers expedition experience, building skills and looking forward to expeditions further afield in the future.

Previous work in this area:

Give details of any previous work in this area by your own and other teams. Include references to reports and articles published on the area, and the names of any local cavers or academics with whom you have discussed the Expedition.

This trip is a follow up from the Cambridge University Caving Club expedition organised by Mike Butcher in 2021, in collaboration with the Shannon Group. A joint expedition report is currently being produced, expected in March 2022, and will feed into the next edition of CAFAC guidebook for the area. A summary of the expedition can be found in Descent (283), with dive logs in CDG Newsletter (222).