Fog-bound climbers had to be rescued
THREE Waterford climbers who got into serious difficulty on the Kerry mountains have told how relieved they were to be rescued in dramatic circumstances by brave local volunteers.
The three men found themselves stranded on a ridge 3,000ft up Carrantuohill surrounded by a massive drop and petrified to move a muscle.
One of them used a mobile phone to contact home and they were eventually plucked to safety by Kerry Mountain Rescue Team volunteers.
Joe Kearney, his brother Michael and their pal Tony Payne had headed-out with a plan to go to an area known to climbers as The Bone.
“We went up and over four or five peaks at the top when the fog came down on us. It was impossible to see where we were going,” said Joe.
The three climbers decided to retrace their steps but with darkness setting in they strayed on to sheep trails with major cliff drops on both sides.
After a number of attempts to find a safe descent the group eventually found themselves below a sheer ridge with nowhere else to go.
They phoned home and Kerry Mountain Rescue team were alerted.
“It was too dark and the fog came down so quickly we decided that the best thing we could do was stay put,” said Joe.
“We were completely soaking wet and freezing. We honestly thought we were there for the night.
“We were very glad to see the rescuers.The torches seemed to come down from the sky. When we saw them we were really delighted to be saved.”
Waterford News & Star
The Gooch makes sick boy’s dream come true
GAA superstar Colm Cooper proved to be a real hero off the field when he made a dream come true for a young Kerry supporter who is battling with a serious illness.
Finbarr Corkery from Farranfore who suffers from a rare bone disorder is just home from a hospital in Dublin where he underwent major surgery on his spine.
And as the 11-year-old blew-out the candles on his birthday cake brave Finbarr made just one wish — he wanted to meet The Gooch!
And when his caring mum Geraldine contacted The Kingdom to ask for our help to arrange the surprise it was all systems go.
Big-hearted Colm didn’t have to be asked a second time and within minutes of being requested to pay a visit to Finbarr’s home the AIB bank official was preparing to make his way to Farranfore with a prized football to present to his greatest fan.
Plucky Finbarr could hardly contain his excitement when the player he idolises walked through the front door of his house at Park View.
And he was even happier that many of his friends and neighbours as well as his eight-year-old brother Jack were there to witness his moment in the spotlight.
Finbarr was born with a rare bone disorder and has been in and out of hospital since he was just a week old. But he never complains and once he gets to see Kerry playing in big games he is quite content.
His proud mother Geraldine said: “I would normally take Finbarr into the training evenings but he’s wearing a major body and head brace since the operation and he was just not able for the journey into Killarney. It’s just a dream come true for him to have the Gooch come to the house instead.
“It was a birthday present to remember to meet his idol. Despite all the pain and anxiety of the last few months he was in ecstasy to see his hero.
“He’s been through hell. It means so much for him to have the Gooch come to see him.”
Chuffed Finbarr declared: “Gooch is the best.”
The Kingdom
Grieving mum’s ‘broken heart’
THE GRIEVING Sligo mother of a man brutally murdered in Limerick city has spoken of her wrenching sorrow at the death of her son.
Gemma Coleman told mourners at the funeral of her son Pat Coleman that she thought her heart would break in two when she saw him lying in a Limerick morgue.
Pat Coleman died at the hands of a savage teenage gang in Limerick. The father-of-two was slashed in the neck by a teenager who used a broken bottle as he walked home after watching the All-Ireland hurling final the previous afternoon.
Pat — whose mother comes from Dawros in Banada — managed to struggle the final 150 yards to his home in the Southill area of Limerick with blood pouring from his wounds. He died after collapsing in his bathroom. It is believed he locked the door for fear his attackers would follow him.
Gardaí were alerted by a passer-by who noticed a trail of blood from the scene of the attack to the front door of the house where he lived.
When they broke down the door of his home Pat had already passed away.
A heartbroken Mrs Coleman said that seeing her son’s body in the morgue was a mother’s worst nightmare.
“I really thought my heart was going to break,” she said. “It is a mother’s worst nightmare and nothing prepares you for something like that. Nothing.
“It doesn’t matter how much you gear yourself up for it. I thought my heart was going to break in two and you just want him back.”
Pat’s two young daughters Oran and Kila also paid a tearful farewell to their father along with their mother Diane Curran.
Mrs Coleman said the two little girls were simply devastated at the loss of their father. She added that all the words in the world were of little consolation.
Three teenagers who were at the scene of the horrific stabbing have gone voluntarily to the Roxboro Garda Station in Limerick to make statements.
Sligo weekender
Junket claim rejected by county council
MAYO County manager Des Mahon has refuted allegations surrounding a county council study trip to Austria which has been controversially dubbed a secret mission.
A group of over 20 councillors, officials and local media travelled to Salzburg as part of a study tour dealing with emergency planning and alternative tourism products necessitated by climate change.
But the group came under fire with a newspaper report headlined: “Council’s junket gets a landslide vote”.
Speaking in Salzburg Mr Mahon told the Western People the weekend study trip was a worthwhile exercise and necessary to advance a number of programmes in Mayo.
“It is important that policy makers are fully aware of what a particular project is before we have to invest quite heavily,” he said.
The fact-finding mission came in for some sharp criticism when it was alleged that the trip was shrouded in mystery.
During the weekend expedition the group of 25 focused on issues which have affected Mayo directly in the last number of years including flooding relief methods, landslide emergency planning and tourism packages.
“There are four very important objectives to this trip. The first is emergency planning, dealing with flood relief and the consequences of flood relief in areas that are prone to this problem,” said Mr Mahon.
“The second is alternative tourism forced by climate change. The third is the eco park where we wanted to see in reality what next generation of this programme is facing the whole of Ireland. Finally, the cultural tourism element was studied where Mayo has a distinct advantage in terms of the market.”
This is the fifth study tour that the local authority has organised in recent years. Among the other trips the council has also visited Sweden, Copenhagen and the Scottish Highlands.
Western People
Mail to be delivered on trollies in Enniscorthy
THE FRIENDLY postal delivery person and their letters and parcels in the An Post service in Enniscorthy is coming in a completely different guise.
An Post’s postal service in the town now features the operation of a bicycle delivery unit which is augmented by a trolley-type service that sees post persons do their rounds not carrying the traditional postbag but with the letters stacked in the trolley-type apparatus.
While the mail vans will continue to deliver post in rural areas the new eco-friendly service will see letters and parcels delivered by the new method around the town centre and some of the town’s housing estates.
The Delivery Service Unit is based at the new state-of-the-art An Post headquarters in the former Eircom headquarters at Moran Park.
Enniscorthy’s An Post service handles some 30,000 letters per day almost half of which have already been pre-sorted at the nation’s central processing hub in Portlaoise.
The new-style service featuring bikes and trolleys has been welcomed by the post persons themselves as it is designed to take some of the backbreaking element out of the work.
The Gorey Echo