A man died after falling from a cliff at a well-known Co Donegal beauty spot early yesterday. A friend who was with him also fell and was seriously injured. The alert was raised by mobile phone shortly after 7am by a third person with them.
Gardaí were last night still trying to establish precise details of the accident. No vehicle was involved.
The dead man has been named as Niall Anderson (21), a painter, from the Cavangarden area of Ballyshannon, Co Donegal. The injured man is Alan Gallagher (19), from Clyhore, Ballyshannon.
The men are thought to have encroached on a dangerous section of cliff-top near the Smugglers Creek Inn at Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal.
It is also close to the back entrance of another landmark, the Franciscan Friary, and overlooks a third well-known premises, the Sand House Hotel.
There is a sign at the spot warning the public not to go close to the cliff edge. It was roped off yesterday by Garda tape as officers took measurements.
The young men are thought to have slipped on the grass and slid down a steep slope for about 13 metres before falling another 13 metres on to the beach below.
The area is a popular holiday spot, mainly with visitors from Northern Ireland.
A priest was called to the scene. Mr Gallagher was removed by ambulance to Sligo General Hospital and Mr Anderson's body was removed two hours after the accident.
A postmortem was due to be held later.
Mr Gallagher, a student at Maynooth who was home for the weekend, was on a life-support machine last night in hospital. A hospital spokesperson described his condition as "critically ill".
Relatives said the young men had enjoyed a night out with other friends in Bundoran. Three men and four girls moved on in the early hours to the home of one of the group for a party at Rossnowlagh, nine miles from Bundoran. The girls later went home by taxi.
Mr Anderson and Mr Gallagher were waiting for it to return when the accident happened. There were reports locally that when one man slipped on the cliff edge, the other tried to grab him and then also slipped and toppled over.
Ballyshannon parish priest Fr Cathal Ó Fearraí, who administered the Last Rites, said: "It's a terrible tragedy. I know the family well. They are lovely, hard-working people. The whole community is shocked."
Prayers for Mr Anderson were said at Masses in the area. He was a popular local sportsman, playing Gaelic football with Aodh Rua and soccer with Erne Wanderers in Ballyshannon.