As camp draws closer, it seems fitting to reflect on the first half of the summer for the 3rd Cork troop. We have spent a total of 6 nights camping in Kilcully, the highlight being the troop weekend back in May. We arrived in Kilcully and the first thing to be pitched was our marquee, after that the tents were up and the campsite perfected, we then had a game of rounder’s and a wide game.

Saturday saw us head to Inchadoney beach, West Cork, what a great day, the weather was great. We played a troop game of American football and then in for a swim. Back to Kilcully for dinner and that evening was like “any other day on scout camp” – the lads roamed about in their groups, some playing ball, others chasing, some playing cards but all enjoying themselves.

Other memories of the nights camping include the game of rounder’s, the Mc Donald’s, soccer, the cold : = ) and the laughs that we had out in Kilcully. Looking forward to camp 2009, the Phoenix Challenge and the rest of the summer.

Yours in Scouting
John Maher

This was our 10th year in a row attending the Phoenix Challenge/Melvin. The weekend was based in Mt Mellary Scout Centre with the campcraft portion of the weekend taking place a few miles away because of last minute changes. The Expedition part of the competition was held in Glenshelane woods, we’re our own county projects was held 2 years ago.

The format for this years Phoenix was a lot like last years with 8 members of the team on the Campcraft Patrol and 4 on the Expedition Patrol.

The mountain team left for Glenshelane Woods on Thursday afternoon. Upon arrival they set up their tents, cooked dinner and prepared a route card for the following day. On Friday the troops left early that morning and started a hike which would take them across the mountains around Melleray centre. The patrols were expected to use their compasses to make sure they were going in the right direction and pick up little markers on the way.

That evening, after a short rest and some dinner, they then had to partake in a Score Orienteering event based around Glenshelane Woods. The next morning started with bases where the patrols’ Scouting knowledge were tested in areas such as Fire lighting, outdoor cooking and river crossing. That evening they rejoined the campcraft patrol for dinner and the rest of the event.

The campcraft patrol was kept just as busy over the course of the weekend. They spent most of Thursday setting up their campsite, Then that evening each patrol had to come up with their own version of the New Zeland All Black's “Haka”. The Haka’s were marked by each PL with the top 8 patrols going on to perform at the main campfire on Saturday evening. On the Friday the patrols were bussed to their base location. The first base was to build a raft so they could complete challenges on the water. In the 2nd section, each patrol had to build a Ballista. Yet again when they got back on site, their day wasn’t finished. They still had to cook their Test Meal and complete an environmental base.

On the Saturday there were 2 more base sections. In the morning there was a craft base ran by our own Eamonn Kiely and in the afternoon the patrol had to complete 30 minute bases testing their First Aid, Compass, Ropework and backwoods abilities. During the campfire that night we were chosen to perform our Haka infront of over 400 people. An experience I’m sure the lads won’t forget.

As you can see from above the lads are very busy over the 4 days, but yet again they were able to keep their energy levels and spirits high enough to reach a Gold standard for the second year running. And even more impressively this year we got to take home the All-Ireland Campcraft Trophy. This trophy is awarded for having the best campcraft site as well as the best expedition site and keeping it that way over the 4 days of the competition. It’s been said to me a couple of times that 3rd Cork set their eyes on this trophy way back in 1993, long before a lot of us, including myself knew what the 3rd Cork was. It’s a massive achievement that we’re all very proud to be apart of. Well done to the 12 lads who pulled it off.

Campcraft Patrol
Shane Maher
Barry O’Sullivan
Keith O’Regan
Ollie MacMorrow
Diarmuid O’Callaghan
Leigh Doyle
Cathal O’Callaghan
Stephen Pardy

Expedition Patrol
Denis Desmond
James Maher
Luke Cassidy
Aaron O’Callaghan








Phoenix 2009 3rd Cork Results
Phoenix 2009 Photos
Almost Perfect!

For camp we went back to Gilwell Park which is located just outside London. Gilwell is considered the international home for Scouting and therefore it sees a lot of scouts from a lot of different countries visit each year. This is the third time 3rd Cork has used the site in the last 10 years, 2005 and 1999 being our last visits.

This year because the troop recently bought a van, 2 leaders, Eamonn and Simon travelled over on the boat the day before with all the gear in the back. We flew over the following day and met them at the campsite. When we arrived we found our site and started setting up. The process usually takes 2 days before we can really call it home.

As part of this year's interpatrol competition, each patrol were given one gadget to design and build which had to serve the entire troop. Eagle built a dresser to store the plates, cups and cutlery. Curlew built a waist disposal area. Swift built a washing area and The Fox patrol built a clothes line. Gadgets were marked on their quality, whether or not they could service the entire troop and how they held up over the 2 weeks on camp.

We travelled to London centre 3 times. To get to London we got a train from Chingford Station to Liverpool Street Station which took about 25 minutes. Once there, we went to The London Dungeons, The London Eye, The War Museum, The Natural History Museum, Wembley Stadium, Hyde Park aswell as others. For our 4th Tour day we went to Thorpe Park. It was by far the best/scariest Theme park I’ve ever been to.

In Gilwell Park itself, there was also plenty to do. We took part in many of their activities and had our usual base and sports days. I could keep writing but I think it’s better for you just to take a look for yourselves so go ahead and have a look at all our pictures and our newest video “Reigning” to check out all that we did on camp.

At this years Phoenix we were lucky enough to come away with the Campcraft trophy and a Gold standard for the second year running. We’ll be adding a lot more about the Phoenix over the next few days, but for now, take a look at the photos of the competition on our Gallery page.

Camp Photos
Phoenix Photos
Camp Video (Reigning)
More to Come...

The 3rd Cork Scout troop sent a team to the Leinster MPC, held in Wicklow this weekend. The team consisted of Luke Cassidy, James Maher, Diarmuid O'Callaghan, Ross Marshall, John Maher and Finbarr Burns.

We arrived at check in on Friday night and headed for base camp. On Saturday morning we woke to miserable weather. The lads did incredibly well to make it to the top of Lybagh in these terrible conditions. From Lybagh, we headed to Slievemann where the weather improved greatly.

From Slievemann – we headed for the summit – Lugnaquillia (925m), the highest mountain in Leinster. The views from the top were brilliant. We then headed over to Clohernagh 800m and down to Kelly's Lough, high camp.

Chicken curry was on the menu for dinner and then the lads got to know the other groups. A god nights sleep was had. We awoke Sunday to a glorious day; the sun was splitting the stones. We hiked back to the car park without getting lost :) well maybe a small bit lost.

Well done to all the lads

Yours in Scouting
John Maher

I’m delighted to report that for the forth year running we have retained the Shield Trophy. Congratulations to both our Expedition and Campcraft teams who won their events respectively. Both Patrols finished with over 90% of the points on offer which is a major achievement for us. The leadership team have been thrilled with all of our members taking part in the competition. The attitude and effort all through training and certainly on the weekend was fantastic. A personal thanks and well done is owed to all our leadership team for an excellent performance.

Congratulations to 21st /71st Cork & 46th / 92nd Cork on their result and also to the 12th Cork Scouts for their achievements. Thanks also to our own John Maher and his team for running two excellent weekends again. I’d also like to thank all those who congratulated us on our victory on Sunday. As always it means a lot.

Yours in Scouting

Graham Hayes
3rd Cork Scouts SL

Last weekend the Expedition competition was held in Fota Woods’ Scout Centre with some parts taking place in the Little Island Scout hall.

We’d like to say a big well done to our Swift patrol, who did a great job in the competition. We feel the Expedition event this year was a major success with the training being more streamlined, the attitude and commitment from the 8 on the patrol being as good as ever and our general performance being very good and hard working.

In my opinion the Expedition is the most challenging competition that we take part in. It’s a very long day with a lot of things expected of the scouts. They all checked in at 9am, Then following a gear inspection, the lads hiked a few kilometres into the woods. When they arrived at the campsite they put up their tents and started thinking about what they’d need in the afternoon. The afternoon Bases were split into 2 sections. The first was held in little Island Scout hall where he patrol had 2 hours to build a monkey bridge. Then in the afternoon the patrols were brought back to Fota where they were tested in 5, 30 minute bases that covered First Aid, Knots, Backwoods, Teamwork and Compass work.

And after all that there was still A Sketch Map, A Log Book and A Route Card to be finished, a test meal to cook and tents to fix. All in all a lot to get done in 24 hours, that is why I don’t say it lightly when I say that the lads did a great job throughout the day.

It’s now over to the Campcraft patrol to do what they can, to try to retain the Shield. I hope to see a lot of familiar 3rd Cork faces on the field next Sunday (May 3rd).

The Challenge made a very welcome return after two years out of our Program. This years Challenge took place in the windy but very beautiful Gap of Dunloe. The troop broke up into two patrols, the Red and Blue patrols. Each patrol were set the task of walking through the Gap of Dunloe (9kms). Along the way there were a series of bases. Many of the bases were 10 minute challenges such as boil water on a gas ring, estimate a distance, make a knot board and the measure the speed of the river. The other bases were a compass challenge, semiphore and a First aid challenge.

Both Patrols did very well in the challenges, but the thing I was most impressed with was the fact that the whole troop completed the walk without any problem. I firmly believe that it takes a really good scout troop to get everyone to complete a long hike in wind and rain. A big well done to the Court of Honour.

After our Hike we settled in the Black Valley Hostel for the night. We all watched the Irish game before heading to bed. Sunday we took the long walk back to be picked up by our bus in Kate Kearneys Cottage.

The first 3rd Cork Investiture took place 79 Years ago in the old Arcadia on the Lower Road. We always view our Investitures as the most important event on our calendar along with camp and I can safely say that this year’s investiture was bigger and better then any I had been to in previous years.

Events began with a guard of honour, welcoming the Chief Scout and his wife to The Hut. Ray Lockheed, the appointed Chairman for the day, then started the ceremony with the scout prayer followed by an introduction to the investiture. After that came the awards. 16 scouts were invested on the day with others receiving their Explorer, Star and National awards. Then we gave out our own personal Scout of the year awards for best new Scout, Scout uniform and overall Scout of the year. A small presentation was then given to Paula, our 3rd Cork Cub leader for almost 10 years who stepped back from the role earlier this year, but is still involved in the troop.

As everyone is probably well aware, last year saw us achieve the Gold Standard in The Phoenix so we were delighted to welcome the Chief Scout; Michael John Shinnick who was there to present the trophy to our 2 PLs, Stephen Kelleher and Shane Maher.

The last thing on the agenda was a performance of our Phoenix sketch followed by the first showing of our new DVD "A Footprint" We'd like to thank everyone who turned out on the day to support us. We hope to see you all again at our next big event.

Tracker Award:
Leigh Doyle	James Maher
Aaron O’Callaghan	Ethan Bonner
Eoghan Cronin	Darren Pardy
Diarmuid O’Callaghan	Jason Hawthorn
Stephen Pardy	Ollie MacMorow
Declan O’Leary	Connor Considine
Cathal O’Callaghan	Jordan Walsh
Shane O’Brien	Dijon Coffey
Explorer Award:
Keith O’Regan	Barry O’Sullivan
Ross Marshall	James Maher
Leigh Doyle	Jason Hawthorn
Brian Considine	Ollie Macmorrow
Luke Cassidy	Ethan Bonner
Brian O’Leary	Denis Desmond
Diarmuid O’Callaghan
Star Award:
Stephen Kelleher	Shane Maher
Leadership Award:
Shane Maher
National Award:
Shane Maher

We will look at making Monkey bridges at out troop weekend on the last weekend in March.

I can’t help but notice that all these logbook reports are being written by the leaders. All scouts are welcome to write a report. Send it to me or Kevin and we will put it. Don’t worry about how good or bad the spellings are we will fix it up. Looking forward to our next event..

Yours in Scouting
Graham Hayes

The troop spent a great scouting weekend in a number of our favourite places over the weekend. Following a great weekly meeting on Friday, we headed for Fota Woods on Saturday morning. The scouts got the train in their patrols and arrived at the woods in great form.

There were 5 bases when they arrived at the woods - Building a zip line, stretcher building, fire lighting, water survival base and the “All new Pitch a Tent in the Fastest Time” base. The weather was fine but just as we headed home the skies opened.

Back to the Hut for some “Chicken Curry – 3rd Cork Style” – after dinner the scouts chilled out playing soccer. We headed out to Leigh Dale Cottage where we settled in and played a few game – “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John” – Big Brother Eviction Style was well enjoyed by all – well done to the winners.

After breakfast on Sunday morning we headed home after a great weekend. A lot of scouting covered and a great spirit amongst the troop. Looking forward to the next few months programme.

Yours in Scouting
John Maher

This year we took part in the annual FRED competition held in Mount Mellary.

Four other troops took part. Throughout the weekend there was a whole load of activities on offer. On Saturday there was Soccer, Basketball, Handball, Racketball, Gaelic Football, Volleyball and Archery. Then in the evening everybody got together in the games room where there was darts, pool and table tennis being played. Sunday morning was also filled with running races, tough men challanges and tug-of-war events. It was a hectic weekend with little time to rest for the scouts.

The camp fire, I loved it. Jason Hawthorne, Eagle Patrol

The windsurfing because I never did anything like that before. Ollie MacMorow, Eagle Patrol.

Catching frogs. Keith O'Regan, Eagle Patrol.

I Can't pick one, I just loved every part of it. Dennis Desmond, Curlew Patrol.

When I went caving with Moyney and Timms. Diarmuid O'Callaghan, Swift Patrol.

Being in the tent with Barry and the lads. Mocking Billy and Simon, ha funniest. "V for gammy" ha-ha. Shane Maher, Fox Patrol PL.

The tour to Salt Hill. I enjoyed the swimming and the fun-fair. Stephen Kelleher, Eagle Patrol PL.

John and his attempts to scare the sheep off site every morning and Timms and the corner guy of our leaders tent........ who put that there!!!!!!. Overall I think the laugh in the Marquee has got to be up there for all the troop. "you could be anywhere" isn't that right john. Eamonn Kiely, Assistant Scout Leader

The closing ceremony, it was very exciting and the campfire was very emotional, it was my last, bye lads!! Glenn O'Donovan, Swift Patrol PL.

When Jason took out the main guys when we were taking down the tent and the tent fell over. Barry O' Sullivan, Fox Patrol.

The Abseiling, it was brilliant. Declan O'Leary, Eagle Patrol.

Being the witness in the incident report from when Billy broke his finger on the river gorging or when I watched Timms fall head over heels over a tent guy!! Funny stuff. Simon Kelleher, Assistant Scout Leader.

The time when we were walking back from the shop and a guy in a Nissan Skyline did a drift. Aaron O'Callaghan, Eagle Patrol.

When we were kayaking and we nearly drowned the instructor on work experience ha-ha! Brian O'Leary, Curlew Patrol.

I loved all the activities, especially the rock climbing. Jamie Walsh, Swift Patrol.

Mass, it made me feel good about not becoming a priest. Paul Hayes, Assistant Scout Leader.

Every night in the tent. Ross Marshall,Fox Patrol.

The abseiling was brilliant. Michael O'Donovan, Swift Patrol.

When Paula and Myself decided to hide one night under the ping pong table to frighten the male scout leaders coming back from the shop. We were crouched down under the table eagerly awaiting their arrival, when we saw a dark figure walking into the woods alone. Myself and Paula started to freak out. Palpitations were beginning to take affect. Now instead of being the hunters we had become the hunted! After 2 minutes of anxious paranoia under the ping-pong table, Moyney emerged from the woods, but wait there's more. After the shock of seeing young Kevin appearing mysteriously from the dark woods, my accomplice proceeded to have a panic attack/stroke. The moral of the story is quite simple… Loitering under the table while Moyney's around can lead to heart problems. The End. Timms Quinlan, Assistant Scout Leader.

When myself, John and Simon were sitting down by the water, really late one night and it started to rain. We spent 30 minutes trying to ignore it before it finally beat us and we went to bed, Crough Patrick was great too. Kevin Moynihan. Assistant Scout Leader.

Last weekend we competed in The Phoenix Challenge in Larch Hill, Dublin.

The Phoenix is the national scouting competition. To qualify for it you must first place either first or second in your county shield.

This year’s Phoenix had 41 troops competing. The format of the competition was slightly different with 2 teams from each troop taking part rather then one.

The first team is The Campcraft team. There side of the competition was more or less based on the traditional Melvin weekend. Their sites went up on Thursday. On Friday morning there was a pioneering competition where each patrol had to build a monkey bridge, then they were given two hours to complete several scouting tasks such as light a fire using flint and build an alpine stretcher. Then that evening was the test meal and sketch competitions. On Saturday the team spent the day doing bases around the grounds of Larch Hill with a trade fair and disco that evening.

The second team were The Mountain team. They left Larch Hill on Thursday afternoon and were bussed to the Wicklow Mountains. After walking a few kilometres to their campsite they set up their tents and cooked their dinners. On the Friday the patrol took part in a hike with several bases located along the route followed by a campfire that evening. On Saturday there was more hiking and bases to be completed before returning to Larch hill that evening for the trade fair and the disco.

Both teams did amazingly well reaching a gold standard which only 2 other troops in the country received. Well done to all our 11 lads who took part in the competition. Hopefully not too many of those names will change for next years Phoenix in Cork.

Mountain Team:	Expedition Team:
Shane Maher	Stephen Kelleher
Dennis Desmond	Brian Considine
Barry O’ Sullivan	Jamie Walsh
Keith O’ Regan
James Maher
Diarmuid O'Callaghan
Leigh Doyle
Michael Marouf

Last weekend the annual campcraft competition and the second part of the shield took place in Kilcully. The weekend is about testing scouts in a broad range of skills, but focusing on living and being self sufficient on a camping field.

There is a lot of work that goes into preparing for the campcraft weekend. 8 scouts between the ages of 11 and 15 are expected to be able to build and take care of a campsite, prepare a sketch, design a raft, cook a test meal, write a log, etc. So for everyone involved the competition really starts weeks and months beforehand, learning and perfecting all these skills.

The weekend begins with a quick opening ceremony. I can't speak for our scouts this weekend, but I can remember when I was on the patrol there were some serious butterflies in my stomach and that's something that has never left me when I see the scouts run up the field to their sites.

The Patrols are given 3 hours to start their sites on the Friday night. In this time it is expected that their tents will be pitched and the rest of the site started. The teams are also given a couple of extra hours the following morning. That night we held a céile in the storm shelter. It was great to do something different on the Friday night and although people were tired I think everyone enjoyed it.

On the Saturday morning the Patrols are given more time to finish the campsite, then its off to the Lee Fields to take part in a raft race on the river. The scout troops have to supply there own rafts and are given about an hour and a half to build them. The race is a really exciting event. A lot of parents and other people involved in scouts come to this event to cheer on their scouts. I'm delighted to say that 3rd Cork took gold in the construction of the raft as well as the race itself.

There isn't a whole lot of free time on the weekend. The minute the lads get back from the raft race it's time for them to start thinking about the test meal and then the sketch later on that night. Some of our younger scouts camped out with us on the Saturday night. They got to go to the camp fire and see the sketches as well as camp through one of the wettest nights that I've seen and it was great to see them all the next morning with a smile on their faces.

Results:

Overall Shield Trophy:
Shield Champions	3rd Cork

Expedition Trophy:
Expedition Winners	3rd Cork
Backpacking Skills	3rd Cork
Log Book	3rd Cork
Bases	46th/92nd Cork
Pioneering	21st/71st Cork

Campcraft Trophy:
Campcraft Winners	3rd Cork
Campcraft Section	3rd Cork
Raft	3rd Cork
Log Book	21st/71st Cork
Sketch	25th Cork
Test Meal	29th Cork
Leader Assisted	12th Cork
Baden Powell Spirit Award	53rd Cork

The Patrol:

Shane Maher
Peter Cronin
Stephen Kelleher
Danny O'Sullivan
Brian Considine
Denis Desmond
Barry O'Sullivan
Jason Hawthorn





Both 3rd Cork Cubs and Scouts were also awarded gold for the year which is a great achievement.

Congratulations to the 20 lads involved in both weekends. We don't have to look at the results to know what a great job you did, but it's nice to glance up at them anyway...

Lastly I'd like to say how great it was to see so many old and new 3rd cork faces at the closing ceremony. Whether they were Scout Leaders, ex Leaders, Cub Leaders, Scouts, Parents or ex Scouts, it was great to see that 3rd Cork still means a lot to so many people.

After a very cold night, we woke on Saturday and began the hike; it was a lovely clear day but extremely windy. There were some fantastic sites including Mount Mellerary from the top of Knockmeal and Knocknafallia.

Reaching the peak of Knockmealdown was tough, with strong winds and a tough climb, but fair play to the lads; they conquered it with no troubles. From the top of Knockmealdown, we headed for high camp. Stew was on the menu for dinner and it was lovely. Bar of golden crisp with a cup of tea for dessert, magic.

Last weekend (12th – 13th of April) we took part in the annual Projects competition. It was held in Glenshelane Woods near Mt Mellary. 8 different scout troops and 11 teams took part in the competition. 3rd Cork entered 2 teams.

The weekend began with a short hike into the woods. On arrival at the campsite, all patrols were given time to pitch their tents before the bases begun. There were 2 base sections. Section 1 consisted of 5, 30 minute bases. They were, First aid, Semaphore and Estimation, Compass work, Backwoods and a challange base. In section 2 everyone had 2 hours to construct a ballista after which each patrol were given water balloons that they could fire at their P.L.

After the bases there was still no time to relax. The dinner had to be cooked and the Log book had to be started. That evening there was a camp fire. I think everyone enjoyed the sit down as well as the heat from the fire.

Well done to the 14 lads who were involved in the competition. Check out the photos here.

The 3rd Cork troop won both the under 13 and under 16 County Soccer Tournamment, held in Kilcully on March 02nd. The weather was great and the pitches lined out so it had all the signs of a good day.

We had 2 under 13 teams and 1 under 16 team, with a total of 25 teams taking part in both competitions. All our teams progressed through the group stages comfortably and got through to the semi finals. Unfortantely our under 13 B team got knocked out in the semis while our other teams got through to the final, with the under 16's final going into penalties.

Well done lads (Check out the pictures of the teams in our gallery)

A great day was had by all.

Under 13 A
Jason Hawthorne
Cian Kelleher
Luke Cassidy
Brian O Leary
Leigh Doyle
Scott McKenzie
James Maher

Under 13 B
Keith O Regan
Barry O Sullivan
Liam O Gorman
Diarmuid O Callaghan
Ross Marshall
Alan Hegarty
Michael O Donovan

Under 16
Glen O Donovan
Shane Maher
Stephen Kelleher
Peter Cronin
Denis Desmond
Danny O Sullivan

Yours in Scouting
John Maher

I remember writing in the guest book of Curraghchase all of 10 years ago something about “finding something in Curraghchase and some day we would come back to reclaim it.” Sounds all a bit strong I know but it was my first weekend as scout leader of the troop and it was the start of something big. (I think I took it from Bob Dylan album somewhere, so sorry Bob, for the next time you log in :) )

Ten years on I’m glad that Curraghchase is one of our regular weekend spots. This weekend we held the “The Base Challenge Weekend”. It was a first for our new patrols and especially for our new Court of Honour, Dennis, Brian and Jamie. All patrols made a great effort in all 5 bases. I think from talking to our scouts that the Fire lighting base was the most popular with “The Water transport” coming a close second. All the leadership team were very happy with the attitude of the 4 patrols during the day. With a couple more events I think we will be in great shape for the “competition end” of year. The results will be announced this Friday night and posted on the site over the weekend.
You can download the bases in Important Documents to find out what type of challenges we took part in

The highlight of the weekend must be the “Rocket launch” session we had on Saturday morning. Eamonn did a great job getting all the parts together and giving the instructions out on how to make the best rocket. We spent a couple of hours launching the 2littre bottle into the air trying to break the height record. I think it’s safe to say we reached a height of about 70 meters. I hope you will get a sense of how high the bottle flew from the photographs in our Gallery. On Saturday night we held a campfire which we weld enjoyed. Job well done to all involved.

Yours in Scouting
Graham Hayes

Carrauntoohill, being the tallest mountain in Ireland, was left up to our older lads to conquer. Our 4 PLs and our Venturer group went on this hike. About 20 brave souls went in all. They left before day break and took about 5 ½ hours to reach the summit. While the reports that came back said that it wasn’t as hard as they’d originally thought, I think they deserve to be congratulated on a job well done.

The rest of the scout troop went up Mangerton. There were 21 3rd Cork scouts and about 60 scouts in total from other troops such as 21st/71st Cork, Cobh sea Scouts, Youghal and Little Island. We left St Patricks Church at 9:00am and got to the car park by Tork waterfall about 10:15. When we got there we all got kitted out and left in search of the summit. Parts of the hike were tough going, but all our lads were well able for it. Also to the guys who were helping the leaders make sure that nobody got left behind, well done to you too.

John “The Chicken King” Grace, one of the Producers of “The Story Of The 3rd Cork 2003-2004 – Volume 1” also joined us on the hike. He’s in training because later this year he plans on climbing to base camp on Mt Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. I think I speak for all of us when I say good luck.

By the end of the day everyone had one thing in mind… Food. After the hike on the way home we stopped off for some Burgers and Chips. In my personal opinion some of the nicest I’ve ever tasted.