ONE of the two men who died within an hour of each other on a day of double tragedy in the Mournes at the weekend was a former senior police commander in Downpatrick.
Robbie Robinson (64) — who passed away as a result of what has been described as a freak accident — was walking at the top of Slieve Commedagh on Sunday with his son, Neill, when he slipped on muddy ground and fell.
Mr Robinson’s family have insisted the tragedy was not related to reported high winds in the mountains. They say there was no wind when Mr Robinson slipped.
The former police officer, who lived in Banbridge and was an experienced hiker, retired from the police service 14 years ago, having risen to the rank of Chief Superintendent.
Tragically, he died shortly after another man, Sean Byrne from Camlough, lost his life after falling from a crag on Wee Binnian. Both men’s funerals are being held today.
Also last Sunday, another walker sustained an ankle injury at an area known as the Saddle and once he had been located, he was transferred to a PSNI helicopter and taken to waiting paramedics who took him to hospital.
Volunteers from the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team responded to all three incidents and were assisted by the PSNI Search and Rescue team.
Dublin Coastguard’s Rescue 116 helicopter was summoned, but was unable to assist due to the conditions at the time.
Mr Robinson’s son has praised the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team which has described the series of events which unfolded last Sunday as ”unique” as it involved two recovery operations and one rescue.
Neill thanked the volunteers for the way they treated his father at the scene and said the work that they did was “second to none”.
He continued: “They were at Binnian, so it took them a little time to get up, but they split up and they came up to myself and to my father.
“So they came as quick as they could over very rough ground. They knew as soon as they got to him, but they treated him the same as they would have treated anybody, with the utmost respect.”
Neill said that from start to finish, the mountain and police rescue teams were “absolutely fantastic” and he cannot praise them enough for what they did.
A spokesman for the mountain rescue team, which deployed 21 members who spent nine hours in the Mournes working on difficult rugged, rocky terrain, said he could not recall a previous occasion when two people died after separate falls on the same day.
He put what happened down to “huge misfortune”, explaining Mr Byrne lost his life shortly before noon, while Mr Robinson died just before 1pm. The third walker sustained his ankle injury around 2.30pm.
“The ground can be slippery and very greasy at this time of year and Sunday was a challenging day for the volunteers,” said the spokesman.
“At any point when someone loses their life in that environment it does take its toll on the team. We have real passion for the mountains and can appreciate why people are there and what they get out of it.
“To see someone else with the same passion as our members would have suffering like that is tough for us and their families. The guys do take what happened to heart and it is only a couple of weeks since they recovered the body of a runner near Rostrevor.”
The spokesman described what happened last Sunday as a “unique set of circumstances” and said it illustrated why the team exists.
He said the locations where the two men lost their lives did not allow helicopters to operate.
“We had the support of the PSNI Search and Rescue Team on Sunday, which was absolutely vital which meant there were over 30 mountain rescue personnel in the Mournes,” he continued.
“We had dealt pretty much with the first incident at Wee Binnian when the second call came through.
“All our thoughts and sympathy is with the Byrne and Robinson families at this time and to all involved in last weekend as what happened does hit the wider community.
“Indeed, last Sunday we had to refuse a call to help with an incident in the Cooleys as there was no way we could help given that we were dealing with three incidents almost running side by side.
“When the call came from the Guards we were dealing with one fatality and two reported injuries as we did not know at that stage that one of the other walkers had sadly lost his life.”
The spokesman continued: “We were dealing with a unique set of circumstances last weekend which, unfortunately, led to two fatalities. For both of these men it was possibly the very finest line you could get between life and death.
“A simple slip could come to a stop and you would be fine or it could have fatal consequences. It was a unique set of circumstances which led to the series of events which unfolded last Sunday.”
The spokesman said the events highlighted the importance of the mountain rescue team which is very much community based, with the service delivered by volunteers.
“We are run by the community, resourced by the community and the service we provide is for the community,” he said.
Mr Byrne’s funeral service takes place this morning at 11am at the Church of St Malachy, Carrickcruppen, while Mr Robinson’s funeral will be held this afternoon at Seapatrick Holy Trinity Church in Banbridge at 1.30pm.