Our MD Comdt. (Retd) Ruairí O’Brien FRGS, B.Sc.(Hons). been named a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with the Institute of British Geographers.

Fellows of the Society must either be proposed and seconded by an existing fellow or an individual may submit evidence of his or her own work and academic publications in the field of geography and closely related subjects such as international development and climate change.
Fellows may use the post-nominal designation FRGS after their names

The Royal Geographical Society was founded in 1830 and is the United Kingdom’s premier organization for the advancement of geography and its practitioners worldwide. As a learned society and professional organization, it promotes an enhanced understanding of our world.

The fellowship is a true honour. Many society members are world renowned explorers, authors, professors, and geographers. Ruairí is thrilled to be in the company of such accomplished individuals, and is delighted to be given the privilege and opportunity to support the society’s efforts.

The Royal Geographical Society is engaged in geographical research, education, fieldwork and expeditions, and geography in society

The Royal Geographical Society has devoted much attention to education and was responsible for the incorporation of the study of geography in schools at the turn of the 20th century. The Institute of British Geographers was formed in 1933 by society fellows as a sister program to the RGS.

The RGS and IBG co-existed for 60 years until they merged in January 1995 to create the new Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers. Today, with 15,000 members, the society is the largest and most active of the scholarly geographical societies

Founded for the advancement of geographical sciences, the Royal Geographical Society is the UK’s learned society and professional body for geography. The RGS has a storied history of supporting many famous British explorers and expeditions, including those of:
Charles Darwin
James Hingston Tuckey
David Livingstone
William Ogilvie
Robert Falcon Scott
Richard Francis Burton
John Hanning Speke
George W. Hayward
Percy Fawcett
Henry Morton Stanley
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Edmund Hillary
Alfred Russel Wallace

Among many other notable explorers and geographers, current fellows also include Michael Palin who was the president of the RGS from 2009 to 2012, David Attenborough, George McGain, Bear Grylls, Ray Mears, Ed Stafford and Mike O’Shea.