Climber plunges to death ‘in deplorable gale winds’

A 21-YEAR-OLD man who died in a climbing accident on Saturday is believed to have been blown off a ridge by gale force winds.

Darren Murphy, of School Road, Ballineen, Co Cork, fell more than 200 feet to his death on the Hag’s Tooth, a steep narrow ridge in the Carrantuohill area of the MacGillycuddy Reeks.

He had been climbing with three or four others but had separated from them and was coming back down the mountain when the accident occurred, according to Kerry Mountain Rescue Team.