BE IT a sunny or a dark day, the Dublin mountains offer majestic views that are attractive to tourists and locals alike. But the old, winding roads that snake up from the suburbia of Tallaght and Rathfarnham can bring you very quickly into dense forest and desolate and dangerous locations.

THERE were five people killed in separate traffic accidents in Cork, Offaly, Clare, Kerry and Mayo over the Christmas holiday period.

A couple who went for a late-night drive in the Wicklow mountains last night had to be rescued early today after their vehicle broke down.

A rescue team had to ski across the Wicklow Mountains today to reach four men trapped in their 4x4s by heavy snow drifts during a freezing nine-hour ordeal.