At the age of 19 Dermot decided to enlist in the French Foreign Legion.
After finishing basic training he was based in France and completed operational deployments in Africa and the First Gulf War. After three and a half years he transferred to Djibouti in East Africa where he trained as a medic and deployed operationally to Somalia twice.
Now working as a security consultant he has worked throughout Africa, the Middle East and South Asia mainly in conflict zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan with diverse clients including the media.

During his time off he is an avid wildlife enthusiast mainly along Irelands´ Wild Atlantic Way tourist route, but has travelled to Europe and Asia to pursue his passion.

While having always been a regular day hiker, in 2017 Dermot decided to solo hike the Arctic Circle Trail in West Greenland  and combine it with a fundraising drive for Irish Dogs for the Disabled during which he successfully raised 11,000 Euros for the charity.
At that point he was hooked and followed up in 2018 by solo hiking the first section of the GR10 hiking route in the French Pyrenees.
His future plans include crossing Iceland, 600Kms from its most Northern to most Southern points solo and unsupported in July 2019.
In 2020 returning to Greenland to haul a sled along a deviated route close to the Arctic Circle Trail.