A 23-year-old Co Cork man was killed yesterday in a climbing accident on Carrauntoohil in the MacGillycuddy Reeks on what was a traditional day for mountaineering in the area.
Garda∅ said that the man, who was in a party of three climbers, fell several hundred feet to his death from a cliff path known as Howling Ridge. They had yet to release his name last night.
His body was taken to Tralee General Hospital by garda∅, who were assisted by up to 30 members of Kerry Mountain Rescue. The two other climbers were airlifted to safety by a Marine Rescue helicopter, which had been scrambled to the area from Shannon.
A spokesman for the rescue team said that the conditions were icy but not unfavourable. He added that the route, which leads to a summit called Heavenly Gates, was easy for an experienced climber. However, it was an area with "a lot of exposure, with several sheer drops".
It is understood that the man who died was an experienced climber. A walker passing the foot of the cliff raised the alarm after witnessing the fall at about 1.30 p.m. The man was among several hundred hikers and climbers on the Co Kerry mountain yesterday.
The incident occurred in a cold snap which saw temperatures fall below zero throughout Ireland. Met ╔ireann said some flakes of snow fell early yesterday in the midlands and north Dublin without sticking. Overnight temperatures fell to as low as minus nine degrees on the ground.
Forecaster Mr Vincent O'Shea warned motorists to expect treacherous driving conditions over the weekend as temperatures decrease further. He said there would be very severe night frost, particularly on Saturday and Sunday.
In Northern Ireland, snow began to fall on the evening of Christmas Day, with parts of the North waking up to a 10 cm snow blanket yesterday morning. Further sleet and snow showers were forecast for early last night, with temperatures falling to zero and the danger of black ice on many untreated roads. Milder temperatures and rain were, however, expected for this morning.
Bookmakers were preparing themselves for large pay-outs after the Met Office confirmed that snow had fallen on its offices at Aldergrove International Airport, Co Antrim, on Christmas Day.
At the outskirts of north Belfast near Glengormley, a lorry jack-knifed on the A8 to Larne as a result of icy conditions, leading to the closure of the north-bound carriageway for several hours. A 20 m.p.h. speed limit was imposed when it eventually reopened at midday.
St Stephen's Day sporting fixtures were hit by the adverse weather conditions, with Down Royal racecourse cancelling its programme after an early-morning inspection deemed the track unfit for racing.
Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has said that its network would be better prepared to handle unpredictable weather conditions than it had been in previous years. The company came in for heavy criticism after two major snowstorms in the past three years caused power cuts to over 250,000 customers.