Latest news with #JohnKeogh
Edinburgh Reporter
19-05-2025
- Edinburgh Reporter
West Lothian entrepreneur prepares for Kilimanjaro climb by walking Pentlands
A West Lothian entrepreneur has been getting ready to scale the world's highest free-standing mountain – by walking the Pentland Hills. Broxburn businessman John Keogh, who has provided more than 300 all-weather coats free of charge to rough sleepers across the country, is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Mr Keogh, who is in his mid-Sixties, has five months to get fit enough to tackle a trek that will take him 19,000 ft up the dormant volcano in Tanzania. And tackling one of the highest peaks in Africa will be a test of resilience not only for him but for the changing robe coat which can convert into a sleeping bag. 'If the coat can work on the extremes of Kilimanjaro, it can work anywhere,' he said this week. John has been fund raising for The Ootsider since he started the Community Interest Company two years ago. The changing robe coats are hand-made in Scotland and sold to outdoor enthusiasts, while all net-profits from the sale go into the manufacture of the sleeping-coats to be distributed free of charge to those who live on the streets of towns and cities around the country. Having raised money through previous sleep out events however, he is now stepping up his efforts, with Kilimanjaro, on the northern border of Tanzania. After a day training in the Pentlands, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 'It's a massive challenge for me but it's not as big a challenge as rough sleepers face every day of their lives. 'My climb is a choice, their's isn't. I'm up in the Pentlands, and I'll come down from the hills to safety and warmth. Rough sleepers don't. 'The sleeping coat is not a solution, but it is a way to survive another night. Rough sleepers climb a mountain every day. let's wrap them in warmth and humanity, not judgement.' As well as fund-raising, John is undertaking the grueling climb to raise awareness of the issue of rough sleeping, which he believes is a forgotten blight on society. John has already spoken about the Ootsider coat at local schools and at cultural, business and environmental events. The success of the coats has prompted John to look at the potential to develop other types of low-cost clothing which is of practical use to outdoor enthusiasts but also of potentially lifesaving benefit to those who live on the streets. The Kilimanjaro climb is not technically as challenging as the Himalayas or Andes, but the high elevation, low temperature and winds can make the peak a difficult trek even for seasoned climbers. The Ootsider has supplied coats to the City of Edinburgh council and works with charities around the country distributing the sleeping bag coats. You can find out more about the work of the The Ootsider at By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Daily Record
19-05-2025
- Daily Record
West Lothian entrepreneur set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
A West Lothian entrepreneur has been getting ready to scale the world's highest free standing mountain - by walking the Pentland Hills. Broxburn businessman John Keogh, who has provided more than 300 all weather coats free of charge to rough sleepers across the country, is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Mr Keogh, who is in his mid Sixties, has five months to get fit enough to tackle a trek that will take him 19,000 ft up the dormant volcano in Tanzania. And tackling one of the highest peaks in Africa will be a test of resilience not only for him but for the changing robe coat which can convert into a sleeping bag. 'If the coat can work on the extremes of Kilimanjaro, it can work anywhere,' he said this week. John has been fundraising for The Ootsider since he started the Community Interest Company two years ago. The changing robe coats are hand-made in Scotland and sold to outdoor enthusiasts, while all net-profits from the sale go into the manufacture of the sleeping-coats to be distributed free of charge to those who live on the streets of towns and cities around the country. Having raised money through previous sleep out events however, he is now stepping up his efforts, with Kilimanjaro, on the northern border of Tanzania. After a day training in the Pentlands he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 'It's a massive challenge for me but it's not as big a challenge as rough sleepers face every day of their lives. 'My climb is a choice, theirs is not. I'm up in the Pentlands, and I'll come down from the hills to safety and warmth. Rough sleepers don't. 'The sleeping coat is not a solution but it is a way to survive another night. Rough sleepers climb a mountain every day. let's wrap them in warmth and humanity, not judgement.' As well as fund-raising, John is undertaking the gruelling climb to raise awareness of the issue of rough sleeping, which he believes is a forgotten blight on society. John has already spoken about the Ootsider coat at local schools and at cultural, business and environmental events. The success of the coats has prompted John to look at the potential to develop other types of low cost clothing which is of practical use to outdoor enthusiasts but also of potentially life saving benefit to those who live on the streets. The Kilimanjaro climb is not technically as challenging as the Himalayas or Andes, but the high elevation, low temperature and winds can make the peak a difficult trek even for seasoned climbers. The Ootsider has supplied coats to the City of Edinburgh Council and works with charities around the country distributing the sleeping bag coats.
Edinburgh Live
19-05-2025
- Edinburgh Live
West Lothian creator of jackets for homeless trains for Kilimanjaro climb in the Pentlands
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A West Lothian entrepreneur has been getting ready to scale the world's highest free standing mountain - by walking the Pentland Hills. Broxburn businessman John Keogh, who has provided more than 300 all weather coats free of charge to rough sleepers across the country, is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. John , who is in his mid Sixties, has five months to get fit enough to tackle a trek that will take him 19,000 ft up the dormant volcano in Tanzania. And tackling one of the highest peaks in Africa will be a test of resilience not only for him but for the changing robe coat which can convert into a sleeping bag. 'If the coat can work on the extremes of Kilimanjaro , it can work anywhere,' he said this week. John has been fund raising for The Ootsider since he started the Community Interest Company two years ago. The changing robe coats are hand-made in Scotland and sold to outdoor enthusiasts, while all net-profits from the sale go into the manufacture of the sleeping-coats to be distributed free of charge to those who live on the streets of towns and cities around the country. Having raised money through previous sleep out events , he is now stepping up his efforts, with Kilimanjaro, on the northern border of Tanzania. After a day training in the Pentlands he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 'It's a massive challenge for me but it's not as big a challenge as rough sleepers face every day of their lives. 'My climb is a choice, theirs isn't. I'm up in the Pentlands, and I'll come down from the hills to safety and warmth. Rough sleepers don't. 'The sleeping coat is not a solution but it is a way to survive another night. Rough sleepers climb a mountain every day. let's wrap them in warmth and humanity, not judgement .' As well as fund-raising, John is undertaking the gruelling climb to raise awareness of the issue of rough sleeping , which he believes is a forgotten blight on society. John has already spoken about the Ootsider coat at local schools and at cultural, business and environmental events. The success of the coats has prompted John to look at the potential to develop other types of low cost clothing which is of practical use to outdoor enthusiasts but also of potentially life saving benefit to those who live on the streets. The Kilimanjaro climb is not technically as challenging as the Himalayas or Andes, but the high elevation, low temperature and winds can make the peak a difficult trek even for seasoned climbers. The Ootsider has supplied coats to the City of Edinburgh council and works with charities around the country distributing the sleeping bag coats. You can find out more about the work of the The Ootsider at
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘Peter O'Toole filled a vase with stout': Plumber who left note behind hotel wall in 1969 tracked down
They say if walls could talk ... Staff at the Metropole Hotel in Cork have tracked down one of four tradesman who hid a note in the wall of the hotel while working there more than half a century ago. Plumber John Keogh (86) was part of the maintenance crew at the hotel in the 1960s. Along with electrician Tommy Ross, carpenter Jerry Higgins and painter Steve Casey, he signed his name to a piece of paper that Tommy Ross placed in a wall in the lobby when they were doing refurbishment there in July 1969. 'We were all working with different firms,' said Mr Keogh, 'but we were all allocated to do maintenance at the Metropole. Jerry Higgins was the carpenter and what would happen is Jerry would take down the panels because Tommy would be tracing wires, and I would be tracing pipes. READ MORE 'Steve would come in then when it was all finished and do the painting, but it was probably Tommy who took off the bit of paper, but we all signed our names, and he put it behind a panel in the lobby. Somebody sent me a photo of the paper today and I recognised my signature straight away.' Mr Keogh lost contact with his colleagues in the Metropole maintenance crew over the years. He was just 31 at the time the note was written and Steve Casey was a similar age, while Jerry Higgins and Tommy Ross were much older men. But while over half a century has elapsed, Mr Keogh has great memories of working in the Metropole as he recalled nights being called out from his home at the top of Richmond Hill to make his way to the hotel to fix some problem, often meeting many of the stars who stayed there over the years. The Metropole hotel on MacCurtain Street in Cork city 'We could be called out at any hour – we had a great night there one time with Peter O'Toole. He went behind the bar and there was a vase with flowers in it and he just threw the flowers out and filled up the vase with stout. He wasn't long lowering it – that man could drink. 'Gregory Peck stayed there while they were filming Moby Dick in Youghal and I remember another time Trevor Howard – he was in Von Ryan's Express – my god, could he drink. The next morning he would be going around the hotel, dickie bow tie on him and you think he hadn't a drop inside him. 'The British model Christine Keeler – she was caught up in the whole Profumo affair about the Russian spy – she stayed there another time, and it was the girls who were telling me she was very nice, that she would do all her own ironing, no airs and graces about her at all.' The note signed by Mr Keogh and the other tradesmen was discovered in the lobby by workmen carrying out renovations and while Mr Keogh hasn't been back to the Metropole in recent times, he and his wife, Phyllis, hope to pay the 127-year-old hotel and its refurbished lobby and restaurant a visit. 'I wasn't inside the Metropole in years, but we're invited down now. When they heard me on the radio, they contacted me, which is nice of them. So myself and the missus will head down along – it will be nice to see the place again and see what progress they've made.'
RTÉ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Cork hotel seeks to solve mystery of names on a note in a wall
The Metropole Hotel in Cork city has launched a search for four labourers who were working at the hotel more than 50 years ago and wrote their names on a piece of paper which has been discovered in the bricks of the lobby. The note, on an old piece of wallpaper, is dated July 1969. It is signed "with love from" Tommy Ross (electrician), Jerry Higgins (carpenter), Steve Casey (painter), and John Keogh (plumber). It was placed in the wall of the hotel, which is located on MacCurtain Street in the Victorian Quarter area of the city. It was discovered when a wall in the lobby was demolished during refurbishment works. One of the men, 87-year-old John Keogh, has already come forward after hearing the appeal on local radio this morning. Group Brand Manager for Trigon Hotels, Sandra Murphy told RTÉ's News at One that Mr Keogh got in touch after hearing about the public appeal. She added that she is "delighted" that Mr Keogh had reached out, and that he and his wife Phyllis, will be attending the opening of the new lobby and restaurant in August. "This was like a time capsule that was located in the wall, and these four gentlemen who worked on a refurb back in the summer of 1969 at the Metropole Hotel had obviously placed that it would be found at some point and we're so privileged and so lucky to have located it. "We really wanted to hear stories from people and because it's such a historical hotel that we love hearing the history of the hotel from people who directly would have worked with the hotel or engaged with the hotel in some way. "We are just hoping to get in touch with the other three men, and if not, then maybe their families would come forward and chat to us and share some stories with us as well." Louise McNamara, General Manager of the Metropole Hotel said: "It would be really exciting to hear the stories of the electrician, plumber, painter and carpenter who obviously worked on the lobby in 1969 and to see what they think of the refurb 56 years later."
