Irish climber who died in Africa named as charity run founder Piers White

Tributes have been paid to Piers White, the Irishman who died while climbing in Africa last Thursday.

His family said the 40-year-old died of altitude sickness. The Kenyan Wildlife Service said a rescue team airlifted a man from a stopover hut on Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa, to a hospital, where was later pronounced dead.

Mr White was commercial director of Mondello Park, the Co Kildare racing track, and was well known for his charity work. He founded the annual Run in the Dark charity run in Ireland which has expanded to cities including Auckland in New Zealand and San Francisco in the US.

The event was established by Mr White and the Mark Pollock Trust, named after his blind friend from the rowing team at Trinity College Dublin who was left paralysed after an accident. It grew from 3,500 runners at the first event in 2011 to 28,000 in 2016 in up to 55 cities.

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Mr White had been chief executive of Stepping Stone Accommodation, a Dublin housing charity that provided permanent rental homes for people at risk of homelessness.

The charity, which had 29 homes worth more than €8 million, was taken over by the Peter McVerry Trust, the national housing and homeless charity, in 2018 as he felt that there were too many housing associations in the country and they could be more effective if merged into a larger organisation.

Mr White was a graduate of Wesley College and Trinity College Dublin. A keen sportsman, he was a member of Lansdowne Tennis Club in Dublin where members remembered him fondly. He assisted as a matchday representative in the organisation of European Champions and Challenge Cup rugby matches for European Professional Club Rugby.

Roddy Greene, managing director of Mondello Park, said it was “with great sadness and regret” that the company learned of the death of “our esteemed colleague”.

“Piers had been a valued member of our senior management team for the last two years and will be missed by all his colleagues and friends here in Mondello Park,” he said.

Online tributes to Mr White recalled his kindness, positivity and sense of fun, with several describing him as a “true gentleman”.