A KITE surfer was yesterday swept to his death on jagged rocks at Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal.
He was one of a group of students from Letterkenny IT and was named locally as David North, believed to be from Belturbet, Co Cavan.
The students seized the opportunity to go kite surfing, despite appalling weather, when there were no classes because of the public service strike.
The incident happened around 2.30pm. Ballyshannon Garda Supt Jimmy Coen said: “The young man was out on the water and a gust of wind caught hold of his kite and he ended up on the rocks.”
His friends ran to the nearby Sand House Hotel, which was closed for the season, to seek help from staff. An elderly priest from the nearby Franciscan friary, Fr Seán Gildea, administered the last rites. The wind was so strong that the priest was blown off his feet and also smashed against the rocks, suffering an injured elbow.
Fr Gildea said: “It was a really grim scene out there. The weather was horrendous.”
A local resident said: “The sea was really turbulent and there were gale-force gusts of wind.”
Eugene Dolan, chairman of the town council in Ballyshannon, eight kilometres away, asked: “What was anybody doing on the water on a day that was so bad that even sea crossings were cancelled?”
Mr North, a keen kite surfer in his mid-20s, was a plumber by trade but because of the downturn in the economy returned to college to educate himself further.
People in his home village and in the Letterkenny college described him as a quiet person who would go out of his way to help someone.
President of Letterkenny IT Paul Hannigan described the accident as “a dreadful tragedy” and expressed sympathy with Mr North’s family.