Teenager injured in cliff fall dies in hospital
A teenager who was critically injured after he fell 80ft from cliffs at a Donegal beauty spot while trying to rescue his friend died today.
Alan Gallagher, from Clyhore in Ballyshannon, spent the last four days in intensive care after falling down the steep rock face at the edge of Rossnowlagh strand.
He had been trying to save his friend, 21-year-old Niall Anderson, a painter from the Cavangarden area of Ballyshannon, who had fallen off the slope. Mr Anderson was pronounced dead shortly after the fall.
The accident occurred at around 7am on Sunday as the pair and another man waited for a taxi near the Smugglers’ Creek Inn at the cliff top.
Gardaí believe the men moved too close to the edge of the steep, rocky slope yards from the pub.
It is understood that when one man slipped on the cliff edge the other tried to grab him before falling down the slope.
The young men slipped on the grass before sliding down a rocky cliff face for about 40ft before falling another 40ft on to the beach below.
A third man raised the alarm on his mobile phone.
Mr Gallagher, a student at Maynooth, was rushed to Sligo General Hospital by ambulance and spent the last few days on a life support machine.
It is understood the men had been enjoying a night out with friends in Bundoran before heading to a party in Rossnowlagh.
