Everest heroes on top of world at homecoming

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.

But such was the crush of bodies, that the platform in question proved almost insurmountable yesterday as the dozen or so expected supporters at Cork Airport turned into a tumultuous crowd to greet their mountaineering heroes.

Straining to get near them, screaming fans packed the airport concourse as the Irish team that conquered Mount Everest arrived home after almost three months on the highest mountain on earth.