Naval divers have recovered the bodies of two men who went missing while fishing off Helvick Head in Co Waterford on Sunday afternoon.
Father of four, John O’Brien (36) and his friend, father of one, Pat Esmonde (36) had gone fishing for mackerel off Helvick Head on Sunday afternoon when they got into difficulty at about 5.20pm.
Their bodies were discovered on the sea bed at about 11.20am in 25 metres of water, about 100 metres from where it is believed they went missing.
They were taken ashore by an RNLI lifeboat and are being brought to Waterford Regional Hospital for postmortem examinations.
Fisherman Willie Kett, from Stradbally in Co Waterford, yesterday told how he had raised the alarm after he heard one of the men shouting for help while fishing near Carraignascamall Rock west of Helvick Harbour.
Mr Kett said he had passed the two men in the dinghy at about 4.40pm as he was heading west to go pollock fishing and he turned around and was on his way back towards the western shoulder of Carraignascamall when he met the two men again.
“The dinghy was coming up against me and passed maybe within 80 to 100 yards and then veered out to sea and I kept pollock fishing and when I looked again there was nobody in the dinghy and one of the lads was in the water,” said Mr Kett.
“It was like he was doing a back stroke, I thought with the wonderful day and everything – I couldn’t see the second fellow and I thought he might be lying down in the dinghy or behind the dinghy.
“I cut the engine to pull in the pollock board and knocked her out of gear and just as the board was coming up, I heard your man shouting for help so I started the engine and headed out again – they were maybe 200 yards at this stage.
“I could see him in the water but when I got to within about 45 or 50 yards, he went down and when I reached where he had been, he was gone so I went over to check the boat and there was nobody in the boat.”
Mr Kett said he found two life jackets along with a fishing rod and he rang the local lifeboat on his mobile phone and stayed on the scene until the Helvick Head Lifeboat arrived on the scene and began searching.
Gardaí under Supt Tom O’Grady were able to identify Mr Esmonde through papers left in his camper van parked at Helvick Pier and late on Sunday gardaí notified both his family and Mr O’Brien’s family of the disappearance.
A native of Tipperary town, Mr Esmonde was living at Derrygrath near Cahir, while Mr O’Brien was originally from Golden, Co Tipperary but had been living at Fourmilewater in Co Waterford and their families travelled immediately to Helvick.
Yesterday both families maintained a sad vigil at the quayside at Helvick as they awaited news of their loved ones.
A team of nine Naval divers under Lieut Tony O’Regan carried out searches near where the men were last seen by Mr Kett.
Mr O’Brien’s uncle, Seán Dunphy, spoke of the shock and sadness felt by the family when they learned on Sunday night that Mr O’Brien was one of two men reported missing off Helvick Head.
“Devastated – that’s the only way to describe it – pure devastated . . . Just thinking of the four little kids, when they woke up this morning and he wasn’t there – I just don’t know how to describe it,” said Mr Dunphy.