"Visitor Killed
in Cliff Fall
Killarney Mountain Tragedy"
Evening Press, 4/9/70.
A young Englishman was killed when he fell down a 150 foot cliff
face near the Gap of Dunloe yesterday evening. Rescuers today
brought the body down from the mountain. He was 19-year-old Andrew
James Harrison (name changed) of Stockport, Cheshire, and had
been employed for the summer holidays as a barman at the Hotel
Europa, Killarney. The accident occurred when he went for a stroll
with two friends who had just arrived from England, and they decided
to walk along the ridge on the western side of the Gap of Dunloe.
When attempting to descend the 900 foot mountain the party encountered
a steep cliff. The two visitors turned back and on reaching the
top of the mountain, found Mr. Harrison to be missing. They spent
an hour searching along the mountain and calling him. Eventually
they had to make their way down the mountain to Kate Kearney's
Cottage where they raised the alarn. The Kerry Mountain Rescue
Team, aided by Gardaí and locals, mounted a massive search
at 11pm last night. They combed the mountainside inch by inch
and found Mr. Harrison's body shortly after midnight at the base
of the cliff.
Because of the weather conditions and the inaccessibility of
the area where the body lay, they had to leave it there overnight.
A party returned to the spot at 6am this morning and brought the
body back down the mountain. Mr. Harrison's body was taken to
the mortuary of Killarney District Hospital where an inquest will
be held later.
A Garda officer, describing the scene of the tragedy, said the
mountain was not a big one by any standards and he did not know
of any other accidents at the cliff. "The place where the
body was found is very inaccessible" he said. "It's
cut off from the road by Cushbally Lake. It's a very awkward spot
to search with the mist coming on the mountain at night."
Mr. Harrison's two companions are thought to have travelled back
to England today.
