Meitheal Mara, the maritime cultural organisation based in Cork, has honoured one of Ireland's great sailors, Paddy Barry, the Dublin-based adventurer who has achieved extraordinary things.
Mr Barry, has taken his Galway Hooker, St Patrick, across the Atlantic and to high latitudes in Spitzbergen, Iceland and Greenland, and has been the recipient of the Blue Water Medal of the Cruising Club of America and the Tilman Medal of the Royal Cruising Club, awards which are presented only for outstanding achievement. At a ceremony in Cork recently he was the first to receive the Gradam Meitheal Mara award.
The award was in recognition of his latest feat of seamanship - conquering the North West Passage last Summer in his purposebuilt yacht, Northabout, regarded as one of the greatest achievements by an Irish sailor since Conor O'Brien's circumnavigation in Saoirse 75 years ago.
The aluminium-hulled Northabout, of French design, was built in a shed in Knock and launched less than a month before the epic voyage began from Clew Bay. Roald Amundsen was the first to navigate the North West Passage. Only 13 boats have done it since then.
Meitheal Mara was founded by Mr Padraig Ó Duinnin, who began building and racing currachs 10 years ago. The organisation works with youth and the underprivileged and has a community employment scheme at its Crosses Green workshop in Cork. It plans to contribute to the Cork City of Culture Programme in 2005.