Barnaderg greets the man who climbed highest

By DAVID BURKE THE MAN who â€Å“climbed to the top of the world to help people who felt at the bottom of the worldâ€Â got a tumultuous reception in his home village on Saturday evening. Peter Oâ€â„¢Connell, the first Connacht man and the 33rd Irish person to summit Mount Everest, was guest of honour at a reception in the Barnaderg Community Centre. There was standing room only as the modest building contractor arrived at the hall to be greeted with thunderous applause by the people who know him best, his friends, neighbours and fellow parishioners of Killererin. Master of Ceremonies David Moggan introduced him as â€Å“the first man from this village, from Galway and from Connacht to stand on the summit of Mount Everestâ€Â and said such a day was unlikely ever to be seen again in Barnaderg. He reminded his audience that the entire expedition had been financed by Peterâ€â„¢s building firm, OCC, and that all proceeds from sponsorship were going to Pieta House, the suicide prevention charity.[private] The feelings of joy and relief that permeated the community were expressed by Mary Gilligan of the Community Council and Marie Fahy of the GAA Club, who made two of the many presentations to Peter. All were delighted to get the message on the internet that he had reached the summit, but all knew that they would not rest easy until he was safely down from the mountain. Climbing metaphors abounded: John Concannon, Pieta House campaigner, said that while Peter had climbed high he had his feet on the ground, but it was Marie Fahy who praised him for climbing to the top of the world to help people who felt at the bottom of the world. Paddy Coyne of the iDonate website said he worked with 350 charities, some of whom felt the website would do all the work, but it was a pleasure to work with Peter and especially his team. The reality of climbing Everest was referred to by John Joyce from Tuam, a fellow mountaineer, who reminded all that it was a beautiful but also a very lonely, dangerous and challenging place. The emotion one felt on being there was something one would never forget, and especially so for Peter, who was climbing in memory of his cousin who was a victim of suicide. At last it was up to the man of the moment to speak. He thanked all who had inspired, supported and trained with him, his fundraising campaign team, and all who helped. But his most telling words were for his family, his parents John Joe and Eileen and his brother and sisters. â€Å“Donâ€â„¢t give inâ€Â was the motto dinned into them by their father, and the positive atmosphere in their home had given them all confidence for their adult lives. With such a reinforcing message to inspire them, the people of Killererin settled into a long evening of celebrating their local hero and the environment that inspired him.[/private]