Hewson overcomes vertigo in charity abseil
By Catherine Shanahan
Monday, June 01, 2009
ELEVATION: the Hewsons are famous for it, be it the name of a U2 tour
or the top of a tower – where Ali wound up at the weekend in a
fundraiser for the Chernobyl Children’s Project International (CCPI).
"It was much scarier than I thought it would be," the elated mother-of-
four confessed to the Irish Examiner after taking a wobble or two on
her abseil down the country’s tallest building, the Elysian Tower in
Cork city. Given her only dress rehearsal for the dizzying challenge
was down the quarry in Dalkey, Co Dublin, she did remarkably well.
For 10 minutes, she hung precariously over the top of the 17-storey
building, to facilitate photographers and a camera crew, before
beginning her descent. Women watching from the ground below strained
necks and eyes against the sun to see how the challenge was going.
"Look at her figure, look at those skinny legs," one remarked
enviously as Ali held on for dear life.
At last, she got going, only to lose her footing, and for a few
seconds she swung helplessly against the tower. Then composure
regained, and without further ado, she lowered herself safely to the
pavement below.
"Oh my God, it was so slippy, I lost the power of my legs," she said,
relieved to be back on solid ground.
"You’re the craziest mum in the world," said her nine-year-old son
John, who, together with seven-year-old Elijah, hugged her tightly,
glad to have her back in one piece. Ali’s brother Ian also did the
abseil, in a spur-of-the-moment show of support.
"It was very frightening," Ali said, "but I am an able-bodied person
and I am not the brave one – Christina and Olga are."
Christina and Olga are two of the orphans rescued by the CCPI from
mental institutions in Belarus. They are undergoing treatment in
Ireland that may eventually allow them to walk with the aid of
prosthetic limbs.
Chief executive of CCPI, Adi Roche, said she was "incredibly nervous"
when she saw "how awesome the drop was" from the top of the Elysian as
Ali prepared to abseil down.
"We’re incredibly proud of her but the children she’s fundraising for
have really touched her heart," Ms Roche said.
She said they were equally grateful to the Garda Training College in
Templemore, where Garda Conal Mallen, Garda Conor O’Reilly and Sgt
Brendan Hoare came up with the idea to abseil down the Elysian, as
well as organising an Ocean to City rowing race and runners to take
part in today’s Cork City Marathon. The Garda involvement is part of a
drive to raise money for the CCPI Home of Hope Project. CCPI has
already purchased 23 Homes of Hope in Belarus where they house
children rescued from state institutions.
Head of Templemore, Chief Superintendent Jack Nolan, said their
involvement with the CCPI was part of a wider campaign to involve
gardaí more actively in the community.
"We have started a programme called Community Engagement in Action.
This year, CCPI is our flagship project. We are hoping to raise enough
money to purchase a Garda Home of Hope in Belarus," Chief Supt Nolan
said.
Ms Roche said the weekend events had been such a success, the
fundraising target had been raised from e50,000 to e100,000. To make
donations to the CCPI, log onto
www.chernobyl-interational.com
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