Student fell while scaling 80ft cliff without safety gear

A zoology student died in Co Dublin after falling from cliffs he was climbing without ropes or safety gear, an inquest has heard.

Conor Dunne (21), from the Fairways, Donabate, fell while climbing an 80ft cliff face at an isolated spot along the cliff walk between Tower Bay in Portrane and Donabate beach on June 20th, 2015.

Mr Dunne had taken his two dogs out with him and began climbing up the cliff face between 9pm and 10pm. When witness Helen Neville spotted him, Mr Dunne was about halfway up the cliff.

“He was climbing on his own, he had no ropes or climbing gear and no helmet or gloves that I could see,” she said. “I’d never seen anyone climbing there before and shouted down to ask was he okay, and he said he was fine.”

Bad feeling

Ms Neville walked on but turned back two minutes later because she had a bad feeling. “I looked down and saw him lying face down on the rocks.”

Emergency services were called and two walkers made their way down to the bottom of the cliff to assist Mr Dunne before he was taken by air ambulance to Tallaght Hospital, where his condition deteriorated.

The University College Cork student died on June 23rd, 2015.

The cause of death was brain damage secondary to cranial cerebral trauma due to a fall from a height with multiple traumatic injuries sustained during a fall as contributory factors.

Garda Shane McGuinn said he had never heard of anyone climbing at that particular location before.

“The cliff face is very sheer and it drops down onto rocks. The location is isolated, in that vehicular access is a 10-minute walk away at either end of the cliff walk,” he said.

Louise Dunne, the deceased’s mother, said Mr Dunne had been climbing since he was a boy and it was his hobby. He was a member of the UCC climbing club, with which he had travelled to Singapore and Wales.

“He was talking about training to strengthen his hands, free holding or something like that. I said ‘rule number one: don’t go climbing on your own’. He’d gone to town that day and bought chalk for his hands and he’d brought that with him,” she said.

Coroner Crona Gallagher returned a verdict of death by misadventure and commended the family's decision regarding organ donation which had benefited a number of people who she said were all doing well.