Councillor Robert Brosnan highlighted recent incidents near the Conor Pass and asked for the erection of signs, warning of the dangers of climbing the surrounding hillside.

A 16-year-old boy died last year while attempting to scale the cliffside around Peddlers Lake, a small lough accessible from a car park near Conor Pass.

In 2024, another young man was rescued from the same area after falling into a crevasse in the rock and breaking a leg.

People have a tendency to go climbing up behind the lake and it’s very slippery,” said Cllr Brosnan.

“There should be signage in the car park to dissuade people to go up climbing behind the lake, especially when a teenager has died up there.”

“I think there’s no need for half these accidents if people had taken a little more care.”

Frank Heidkt, the officer in charge of the Irish Coast Guard in Dingle, has been involved in numerous call-outs in the area, including the tragic fatality last year.

He said the particular spot around Peddler’s Lake was a “problem area”, with some people, once having completed the short scramble to the lake, felt attracted to climb the adjacent cliffs.

“It seems to be an impromptu decision by these young people,” he said.

“They seem to be prepared to climb to the lake – they might only have a pair of runners – and it’s fine by the lake if the conditions are good.”

“However, they tend to sort of bravado up the hill and they can get into difficulty there quite easily. There’s a lot of places up there to get into difficulty and it’s very harsh terrain.”

“The problem is when you’re climbing up something, it can be very difficult to get down again.”

Cllr Brosnan added that those walking on the mountain should wear hi-vis gear to help rescue crews locate them if they have an accident.

“Anybody going up a mountain should have luminous jackets on them because it’s very hard to find people when they get into trouble,” he said.

“And anyone walking along the side of the road with no luminous jacket, they should be given an on-the-spot fine introduced for them because a lot of the time drivers can’t see properly when people are walking along the verges of the road,” he added.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme