Girl survives horror fall from Westport cliff

MIRACLE The hilltop at Roman Island has many jagged rocks at the foot of it, which the young girl’s head missed by inches. Pic: Conor McKeown


Oisín McGovern

A WESTPORT girl is lucky to be alive today after suffering a horrific fall from a cliff at the Quay last Monday.
The girl was down at the cliff at the tip of Roman Island with a friend when the soft ground disintegrated from under her, causing her to fall over 20 feet straight to the ground.
She was attended by three local people before being transferred to Mayo University Hospital by ambulance, where she underwent surgery for six hours.
Miraculously, despite suffering extensive bruising, lacerations and concussion, she did not sustain any fractures, internal bleeding or life-altering injuries.
The girl is currently able to eat and drink, despite suffering scars and bruises on her body.
Her mother, who did not want to be named, became aware of the accident last Monday after receiving a phone call from local man Tristan Greham.
Mr Greham, who works as a support worker for people with intellectual disabilities, was practicing hurling at the nearby football pitch with his friends Will Willox and Mia Bauer when they witnessed the fall.

Lucky escape
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday), Mr Greham said: “Mia was doing a bit of study on her computer, and me and Will were playing hurling on the pitch. We were messing about and I saw the two girls up on the cliff.
“I saw the girl standing up and then I heard her roar and then I saw her fall to the ground. As soon as I saw her I made a run. I ran for the phone and rang 911 as I was running over.
“I was on the phone to the ambulance and Mia was talking to her trying to keep her awake in case she fell asleep or anything. She was so lucky because there was rocks at the bottom and she just missed the rocks with her head,” he added.
“I was expecting the worst when I ran over, and we were just expecting the worst when the ambulance came.”
Upon reaching the girl, the three young people stabilised her body position and kept her comfortable while Mr Greham contacted the her mother.
Ms Bauer used tissues to help alleviate the bleeding from the girl’s nose. She also sustained cuts to her backside, hands and lower back as a result of the fall.
 The girl’s mother, who does not drive, reached the scene of the accident on foot in 15 minutes. Mr Willox helped direct the ambulance to the location of the accident while the others attended to the girl.
When the ambulance arrived, Mr Greham, Mr Willox and Ms Bauer, all in their early twenties, helped paramedics lift the girl safely onto a spinal air mattress.
The girl told her mother that one woman had walked past her after she had fallen without raising the alarm.

Safety precautions
The girl’s mother has called for a fence to be erected along the cliff to ensure that such an event does not occur in future. She also said warning signs should be erected that display the Eircode for the area.
She says she does not intend to pursue any legal claims or lawsuits for her daughter’s accident. “I am just a mum that wants to make sure that no parent or child has to go through what we have been through these past four days,” she said.
The area by the Quay where the accident occurred is regularly frequented by locals and visitors during fine weather.
The Mayo News understands that the ground where the girl fell is on private property.