A trip to the Deep South got the intricate machinations of the mind of Pat McNamee working overtime in the early 1990s — today the Cork native is a man whose ingenious clothes washing invention is sold in millions of supermarkets throughout 60 countries.

An upgrade of the Dunkettle/Jack Lynch Tunnel interchange is “vital for the growth of Cork”, a Bord Pleanála oral hearing was told yesterday.

A 150-year old Cork company, Punch Industries, has been named as the overall winner of the 2003 All Island Innovation Awards.