February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Forget about seeing the Jeanie Johnston on the eastern horizon anytime in 2001.
Plans to put the Famine-era replica sailing ship through sea trials with a view to a voyage to North America this summer were scrapped Tuesday.
The cancellation of the voyage is yet another blow to the problem-plagued ship, which was due to visit the U.S. and Canada last summer only to have that voyage put on the long finger.
Now the finger is even longer, as is the bill for the Co. Kerry-based project, which now exceeds £10 million.
In a statement, the Jeanie Johnston Project Board of Directors said that due to the late completion of the ship, now scheduled for the end of July, a decision had been taken to postpone the ship’s transAtlantic voyage in 2001.
"The Board has requested a meeting with the minister for the marine and natural resources to discuss the future options for the vessel," the statement said.
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Bone marrow drive
A bone marrow drive will be held this weekend to help identify possible donors for a 4-year-old New York girl in New York is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.
Aileen Fearon suffers from aplastic anemia, a rare genetic illness that can sometimes be treated with regular blood transfusions, but requires a bone marrow transplant in order to live a normal life.
Aileen’s parents, Mike and Marie, are natives of County Armagh.
Appropriate bone marrow is not always found in close family members, and this is the case with Aileen.
The drive will take place Friday, June 29, from 4-8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at P.S. 11, 54-25 Skillman Ave., Woodside, Queens.
For details, call 1 (800) Marrow-2 or visit the website www.raglanroad.com — the band, Raghlan Road, is helping Aileen find a donor.
U.S. tourists hurt
Police in Ireland confirmed Tuesday that 14 U.S. tourists were treated for shock and minor injuries at Cork hospitals last weekend following a bus accident outside of Middleton. The accident occurred on Saturday, June 23, at 1:50 p.m. when the tourist bus carrying 28 Americans and their tour guide hit a low bridge at Ballick, on the Mallow road out of Cork City.
The tourists, who hailed from Cape Girardau, Mo., were treated for minor injuries at Cork Regional Hospital and later released.
"They were very lucky," a police spokesperson, said. "The incident is under investigation right now."
The holidaymakers arrived in Ireland earlier in the week and had planned a day trip to several historic sites in East Cork that day. They also planned to visit the Ring of Kerry and the Burren in County Clare before returning o the U.S.