"Boy (10) Killed
in Fall from Mountain Ridge"
Independent, 15/4/96.
A 10-year-old Dublin boy was killed when he fell from a ridge
overlooking a mountain lake during a holiday outing in Co. Kerry.
James Hickey (names changed) from Donabate climbed part-way up
a ridge surrounding the lake but then disappeared from view. The
alarm was raised a short time later and his body was found early
yesterday morning by members of Kerry Mountain Rescue Team.
The Murray family, with whom James was holidaying in Ballyheigue,
had been driving towards Conor Pass on Saturday evening when they
stopped to walk up to a corrie lake a short distance from the
road. James and one of the Murray children continued to climb
towards the ridge. "One of the adults saw them and called
them back down. One young lad got down safely by the same route
he'd gone up but the other didn't come back" a garda spokesman
said.
"Mrs. Murray went for help while the others began searching
for James. No-one saw him falling but he didn't come back with
his friend." The alarm was raised at 7.15pm. Rescue Teams
joined Gardaí and a helicopter in the search, while members
of a Cork canoe club who had been canoeing nearby searched the
lake.
Members of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team using sniffer dogs
located the boy's body on a ledge above the lake at 1.50am yesterday.
The boy's parents travelled to Kerry yesterday. His body was removed
to Tralee General Hospital, where a post mortem examination was
carried out.
