Clare climbs to the top of the world

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

“It feels pretty amazing,” Clare O’Leary, a doctor from Bandon, Co Cork, said as she stood on the peak of what the Tibetans call Chomolungma, or Mother Goddess of the World.

“A couple of times over the last few days I didn’t feel I was going to make it, to be honest. Then yesterday and today I started feeling stronger. I could see one of our Sherpas up ahead and I thought, God I’m going to do it.”