Homecoming ceremony for Irish Everest heroes

THE Irish team that conquered Mount Everest will fly into Cork todayat the end of a gruelling two-and-a-half months’ climbing in the Himalayas.

After battling blizzards and hurricanes, with at least one member suffering broken ribs and frostbite, the team is looking forward a well-earned rest.

Perhaps their closest brush with death was when a helicopter they had been due to travel in crashed into base camp, killing two people and injuring 11.

Each member of the team, led by veteran climber Pat Falvey, 45, is assured of a hero’s homecoming when they arrive at Cork Airport at 1.30pm.

Hundreds of people are expected to greet them.

“We can’t wait to get home. I’m looking forward to seeing my family and taking a quiet walk in the Kerry hills,” said Mr Falvey.

He and Hannah Shields from Derry were forced to stop 300 feet from the summit, due to frostbite and breathing difficulties.

Two members of the team, Michael Murphy from Skibbereen and Gerard McDonnell from Limerick, reached the summit on May 22, following in the footsteps of Mr Falvey, who became the first Irishman to place a tricolour on the summit in 1996.

Pat Fenton, chairman of the Cork support committee, said of the homecoming: “It should be an emotional and joyous occasion.”

It is not the only celebration enjoyed by team members. Pat Falvey, Michael Murphy and Gerard McDonnell received Medals of Honour from the Nepalese Minister of Tourism last Friday, at a ceremony attended by the King of Nepal.

Also there to congratulate them was Edmund Hillary, the first man to conquer Everest in 1953.