Ardglass Cliff Fall Boy Escapes Death

A friend raised the alarm with two golfers close by who were out for a quiet afternoon’s golf and were tee-ing up at the second hole on the golf course. Golfers Paul Burke and Jimmy Matthews were getting set to tackle the par 3 hole over the ‘Canyon’ when they were alerted of the accident and rushed to the rescue. [caption id="attachment_23332" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="A young boy fell onto rocks at an inlet on the shore near Ardglass on Sunday afternoon and sustained an arm injury."][/caption] Without consideration to their own safety, they quickly negotioated their way down the dangerous cliff slope onto the bottom of Howd’s Hole and checked out the fallen boy. As it would have been too difficult to take him back up the cliff, the golfers carried the boy around the rocky coastline back up to where the were originally. Paul Burke said, “It was just after 3pm when the incident happened. We initially raised the alarm with the emergency services and within a short time two ambulances and two fire tenders had arrived on the scene. A police helicopter was also scrambled and flew over the scene but was not required. “The young lad looked as though he had a damaged wrist and other injuries and bruises. He was badly shaken. When the ambulance crew arrived, they decided to put him on a stretcher in case he had a back or neck injury. ‘This is a very dangerous area and he was very lucky to have fallen the way he did landing on his knees. It is a serious drop to the bottom of the Canyon. Golfers never go down there to retrieve their golf balls. But we’re glad to see he will be all right. This could all have had a very different outcome. Everyone needs to be very careful walking along this coastal right of way. Especially children. There are hidden dangers along this route and people just need to be alert.”]]>