Columbia’s pilot had Donegal roots

William McCool, 41, the shuttle’s pilot, has family ties to the Inishowen Peninsula. A Texas native, he had a number of second and third cousins in the Carndonagh area.
“When I saw the name, I thought it would be a great coincidence if he was my cousin and then I realized that he was,” Anna Kemmy, who’s 82 said. “It is very sad.”
McCool, a father of three from Lubbock was a former Navy commander and test pilot.
It was his first space flight since becoming an astronaut in 1996.
During the mission, McCool made a prediction that tragically did not come true: “We’ll come back and land, slowing from 17,000-plus miles to 200-plus miles per hour. Rick Husband, our commander, will make a smooth landing, and the mission will be over,” he said.
McCool’s grandfather, Joseph McCool, emigrated from Tiernaleague, Carndonagh about 70 years ago and settled in Boston. He had four children, including Jimmy McCool, the father of William.
“They kept in touch with home and returned home for funerals,” Kemmy said.
As the investigation into the shuttle crash gathers pace, the Irish government has conveyed its condolences on behalf of the Irish people to President Bush.
A spokeswoman at the Irish consulate in New York said that verbal condolences had already been expressed and these would be followed in writing from both President Mary McAleese and the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
Meanwhile, a County Offaly woman who hopes to become Ireland’s first astronaut has said she is not deterred by the Columbia space shuttle tragedy.
Scientist Michelle McKeown, 28, a native of Clara, applied for a place on the astronaut training program five years ago but was told she would not be considered at the time because she was not a U.S. citizen.
She described news of the tragedy, which resulted in the death of the seven astronauts on board, as “heart-stopping” and “terrifying.”
“It brings a reality to a golden image people would have about space flight,” she told RTE. “It actually shows us there are real dangers, real risks and real people involved.
“It terrifies me because I could be in that situation. People who are determined to go to space; they know the risks. I know the risks but I am determined that I can’t let my fears stop me.”
The aspiring astronaut is a lecturer on environmental science at the Limerick Institute of Technology and is doing research on wetland ecology.
She hopes to go to Florida later this year to take part in a space technology program at the Kennedy Space Center.
McKeown said wetland ecology research studies ways of purifying water and using materials extracted from waste water to help grow food crops in places such as the space station or in a space colony.
“I hope it is going to provide 100 percent recycling of all waste water products and this would include human waste,” she said.
She has always been interested in space and last year she met NASA’s Dr. Sam Durrance at a FAS job opportunities fair at the RDS in Dublin. She described her research to him and he put her in touch with Tony Gannon, manager of education at the Kennedy Space Center. At his invitation, she went to Florida last year and discussed her work with two specialists there.
Ray O’Hanlon contributed to this story.