Pole Position For Irish Adventurers

It may be a cold January day in Dublin, but it's a lot cooler for the four-strong team of adventurers that is expected to make history today as the first Irish expedition to reach the South Pole.

The team led by 50-year-old Cork man Pat Falvey is to arrive late this evening at the planet's most southern point.

The squad have been trekking since November through some of the harshest conditions known to man, battling icy winds, constant sub-zero temperatures and biting snowstorms.

'"We are excited at the thought of our journey coming to an end," wrote Mr Falvey in his online diary.

"It's amazing how all the harsh times we have had on this expedition are starting to fade into the recess of our minds as success is on the horizon."

Deputy Team Leader Dr Clare O'Leary, also from Co Cork, is the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest and also the first Irish woman to complete the Seven Summits Challenge.

If all goes to plan today, she will soon become the first-ever Irish woman to make it to the South Pole.

The final members of the team are Shaun Menzies, 42, and Jonathon Bradshaw, 36, relatively inexperienced high-altitude trekkers who were invited to join the expedition.

The four adventurers have retraced the steps of some of the best-known Antarctic explorers, including Tom Crean and Ernest Shackleton.

(BMcC)