1976 - Great Outdoors opened on Chatham St and introduced a world of adventure to Dublin & Ireland, 1st item sold was an inflatable double air mattress but most people were excited by the exclusive Lowe Alpine Footfang as we were the first stockists in Ireland.

1977 - Great Outdoors start selling the first Irish made surfboards shaped by Hollow Wave in Sligo

1979 - Mountain Equipment launch the Lightline Jacket and it's a hit with Great Outdoors customers, still a bestseller amongst climbers and hikers alike.

1980 - Lowe Alpine introduce the first plastic buckles on their backpacks, now everybody uses them. Many of the models created by Lowe Alpine at this time were designed by Jim Leonard, a former Great Outdoors employee.

1982 - Sprayway introduce their first GoreTex jacket, the Snipe and we stocked it.

1983 - Tim Leatherman creates his first multitool, we were one of the first stores to stock them, the rest is history.

1985 – Cascade designs opens its first factory in Midleton Co Cork, manufacturing foamless mats and a lot more besides. Great Outdoors sees the potential of these self-inflating mattresses and becomes one of the first European stockists.

1986 – Great Outdoors starts the stock the brand new Base Camp Duffel from the North Face, years later, we still stock the same bag and not a lot of the design has changed over the years.

1987 – Great Outdoors sponsors the Irish Zhangzi Tibet Expedition led by the late great Joss Lynam

1989 - In 1989, Great Outdoors had the pleasure of hosting – the man, the myth, the legend – Sir Chris Bonington for a talk in store! In his time as a Mountaineer, Chris led and took part in 19 Himalayan Expeditions, Including 4 to Mt Everest! #WeWereThere and slightly star struck…

1991 – Primarily a snow sports manufacturer, Salomon, took their first step into summer sports with the launch of their first hiking boots. Taking inspiration from their skiing background – these boots zipped closed!

1992 - Great Outdoors Sponsors Ian Wiley K1 & Mike Corcoran C1 at 1992 Barcelona Olympics Slalom events

1993 - First Irish Everest Summit, Great Outdoors supplied a lot of technical gear and advice and even manned the base camp station.

1997 - Great Outdoors Sponsors Frank Nugent and the South Arís Expedition re-enacting Tom Crean's elephant isle adventure

1999 - Sealskinz patented the Porelle fabric and Great Outdoors stocked their original walking sock which went on to be the foundation block that all Sealskinz socks, hats & gloves are built on today.

2002 - Craghoppers launch their Nosquito range of mosquito repellant clothing and usher in a new era in active clothing and protective wear

2004 - With sponsorship from ourselves and Lowe Alpine, and guided by John O'Regan, Mark Pollock was the first blind man to complete the North Pole Marathon

2005 - In 2005 we supported Colin Irvine as he kayaked 300km of the Zanskar River in Ladakh, India. Staying in their trusty Tent sponsored by The North Face!

2006 - Great Outdoors were proud to sponsor Terrence Banjo Bannon’s attempt to summit K2! We love to support Irish explorers.

2007 - Marked the first ever Junior Paddlefest in Ireland, going on to become Europe’s largest Junior Kayaking event!

2009 - John O'Regan Completes the last of his 7 Continents marathon/ultramarathon challenges in 2009 with a 100k run in Australia

2011 - Great Outdoors kits out 4 Irish models, Rozanna Purcell, Daniella Moyles, Emily macKeogh and Lynn Kelly as the went from Catwalk to Kilimanjaro with Earths Edge and raised over €10,000 for the make a wish foundation

2012 - Garmin introduces its first wrist wearable GPS device, the fenix. We were one of the first stockists in Ireland and have seen huge growth in wearables since.

2017 – Great Outdoors Supports Sinead Kane and her guide runner John O’Regan as they complete 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days

2018 - Great Outdoors supports Jason Black as he successfully summits K2

2019 – Great Outdoors opens its new flagship store on South Great George’s Street.

2023 - Great Outdoors moves with the times and jumps into the future with a modern website to bring the adventure shopping online!