Nearly 40 years after it was first built, a massive fundraising campaign has been launched to raise €1.5m to complete a makeover on Cork University Hospital’s (CUH) children’s unit.

An Irish doctor and explorer who became the first woman from this country to reach the South Pole is attempting to make history for the second time as she bids to cross the treacherous North Patagonian Ice Cap in Chile.

Everest conqueror Dr Clare O’Leary will this weekend unveil a memorial in honour of a heroic Irish polar adventurer who was a member of Captain Robert Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole a century ago.

After an escape from danger on the North Pole, two Irish explorers are already planning to return to the world’s most hostile environment.

HE’S made and lost a million, scaled the world’s seven highest peaks, twice, and walked in Shackleton’s footsteps to the South Pole.

SOUTH POLE: check. Everest: check. Highest peaks on seven continents: check.

A PAIR of adventurers along with a rugby star and a solicitor — who uncovered evidence to free a man who had served 26 years in jail — are among the favourites to scoop the Cork Person of the Year award.

FOUR intrepid adventurers who became the first Irish team to reach the South Pole are to be honoured by the last surviving daughter of legendary explorer Tom Crean.

I WAS disappointed to read Dan Murphy’s acerbic analysis of the recent expedition to the South Pole which he described as “beyond a joke” (Letters, January 19).

IRELAND’S intrepid South Pole explorers were last night given a special reception by President Mary McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin to honour their accomplishment.

Four explorers who made history by becoming the first Irish expedition to reach the South Pole have been invited to Stormont by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

President Mary McAleese will today honour four explorers who made history by becoming the first Irish expedition to reach the South Pole.

TWO polar heroes will get a warm welcome tomorrow night when they jet in to their home town a week after conquering the South Pole.

An explorer who made history by leading the first Irish expedition to the South Pole today described his barren ice-capped surroundings as heaven.

A four-strong team of intrepid explorers made history tonight by becoming the first Irish expedition ever to reach the South Pole.

IF ALL goes to plan, and hopefully it will, a group of Irish adventurers will today safely reach the South Pole, an achievement that once represented the Holy Grail for generations of explorers.

WHEN Pat Falvey named his 2007 South Pole expedition “Beyond Endurance”, he knew he was not alone.

A woman seeking to become the first from Northern Ireland to reach the summit of Mount Everest begins her ascent this weekend, it was announced today.

THE only surprise at yesterday’s Cork People of the Year awards, was that it had taken so long for the city’s best known son to be honoured by his own.

TÁNAISTE and Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, became the fourth “Mary” to receive the top accolade in the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Award last night.

HUNDREDS of people turned out over the weekend to welcome home the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest.

Hundreds of people have welcomed home the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest at Cork Airport today.

The first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest returns home to Cork today.

NOT a lot of people know this, but Mount Everest is barely the size of a half-decent snooker table. Clare O’Leary discovered that for herself yesterday when she became the first Irish woman to scale the world’s highest peak.

CLARE O’LEARY yesterday became the first Irish woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

The first Irish woman to conquer the world’s highest mountain today vowed to continue hitting the heights after she recovers from her ordeal.

Clare O’Leary has become the first Irishwoman to successfully climb Mount Everest after reaching the summit in the early hours of this morning.

A member of an Irish mountaineering team attempting to climb Mount Everest has withdrawn from the expedition.

Peter Johnston, coach of Ireland's women's cricket team writes: "All is going to plan so far in sunny Holland, the competition is of a very high standard. A very exciting victory against the strongly favoured West Indies and a comfortable win over Japan, leaves us unbeaten but with some more tough games to come, Pakistan, Holland and finally Scotland.

FOR a man who has crested the world’s tallest peaks you would think Pat Falvey might have little trouble climbing onto a two-foot platform to wave to well-wishers.

THEY don’t encounter too may puc fadas in the vicinity of the Himalayas, let alone the top of the world.

ONE of the two women members of Ireland’s Everest team withdrew from the climb yesterday after succumbing to a stomach bug.

FEROCIOUS winds forced the Irish team hoping to scale Mount Everest to return to their base camp yesterday.

A CLIMBER on the Irish Mount Everest expedition is recovering in hospital after a near-death experience.

IT may be sunny at home, but members of an Irish team climbing Mount Everest are praying for better weather to help them reach the summit.