The Mayo News

The body of a Galway man who fell from a mountain near Leenane was located yesterday morning by Mayo Mountain Rescue. Galway man dies after mountain fall in Leenane


Anton McNulty

THE body of a Galway man who fell from a mountain in the Maamtrasna range near Leenane was located yesterday morning by Mayo Mountain Rescue.
Patrick Fox who was in his late 50’s and from the Oranmore area of Galway had been walking along the mountain range with his two brothers on Sunday when conditions deteriorated and he slipped and received fatal injuries. The alarm was raised at approximately 3.30pm on Sunday but Mayo Mountain Rescue were unable to locate the body before nightfall.
The rescue team commenced the search at first light yesterday morning and the body was discovered at 9am in an area called Glenfree Valley, which is three miles on the Mayo side of Leenane, near the Ashleigh Falls.
Mr Fox had set out walking at Finney with his two brothers at 8am and the weather conditions were described as good. However, after walking over the Maamtrasna range the conditions changed and deteriorated with heavy fog falling off the mountain.
“Apart from the fog conditions were good but unfortunately this person slipped and fell. We went out last night [Sunday] but we went down the wrong valley and couldn’t find him but we found him at 9am,” explained Dick Harnedy PRO of Mayo Mountain Rescue.
The location where Mr Fox fell made it very difficult for the rescue team to take the body out and it was after lunchtime before the body was taken from the mountain and brought to Mayo General Hospital.
Meanwhile a 21-year-old was taken off Croagh Patrick by Mayo Mountain Rescue on Saturday evening after suffering a fall. The incident took place at 6.15pm on the south side of the mountain and was stretchered off the mountain suffering from an upper leg injury. The man who was from Mayo was later brought to Mayo General Hospital.

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