Pat Flynn
Two bodies have been recovered from rivers in Co Clare following separate incidents.
One body is understood to be that of a man for whom a search was mounted in Ennis over a fortnight ago, while the second is that of another man believed to have fallen into a river in Newmarket on Fergus overnight.
In Ennis, a body was located and recovered from the River Fergus at around 1.30pm on Saturday. The discovery was made soon after local Clare Civil Defence personnel recommenced their daily search for a missing man.
On Saturday afternoon, on day 16 of the search, a body was found in the water close to a railway bridge about a kilometre downstream from where the missing man was last seen.
The alarm was originally raised on November 10th when a man was observed entering the water at the Club Bridge in Ennis town centre.
A significant multi-agency search and rescue operation was quickly mounted, however when there was no sign of the man by 2.30am, emergency services for stood down for the night.
That operation involved Gardaí; units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station; the National Ambulance Service; Clare Civil Defence; Doolin Coast Guard unit and the Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115.
Search operations
Civil Defence members have undertaken daily search operations since the man was first reported to have entered the water while Rescue 115 has also carried out sweeps along the length of the river.
Divers from the Garda Water Unit based in Athlone and Santry also took part in the searches, while divers from a number of sub-aqua clubs, all affiliated to Diving Ireland - Southwest Region, joined the search over two weekends.
Soon after Civil Defence personnel resumed their search this afternoon, the spotted the man’s body in the water. The body was taken from the water and recovered to a local slipway where he was formally pronounced dead by a local doctor.
Gardaí were advised and made their way to the scene while a local undertaker was also requested to attend. The man’s body has been removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out later.
Separately, in Newmarket on Fergus on Saturday, the body of a man was located in a river which flows through the town. It is believed the man may have fallen into the water during the night.
The body was recovered from the water shortly after 2pm and removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem will be carried out at a later stage.
