Clare climbs into the history books

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.

"We spent about 20 minutes on the summit," said the 33-year-old doctor as she and expedition leader Pat Falvey took time to celebrate their achievement from the top of the world.

"Pat, myself and four of the Sherpas got there at about the same time. It was fantastic to be looking down at all these amazing Himalayan mountains. Over on the other side of the summit you can look down at Tibet and actually see climbers coming up the north side," she said.