Funeral to take place of man who died in slurry pit accident

The funeral will take place on Tuesday of a 31-year-old father of two whose body was found in a slurry pit on a farm in Co Cork just over a month after he disappeared while walking home.

The remains of Diarmuid Twomey will be cremated following requiem mass at the Church of the Ascension in Gurranebraher on Cork's Northside at 11am.

Mr Twomey, who was originally from Presentation Close, Gurranebraher in Cork city but living more recently in Carrignavar, is survived by his partner, Ciara Byrne and their children, Lily and Katie.

Mr Twomey's body was discovered around 4.30pm on Thursday, January 28th, when a farmer went to agitate his slurry tank at his farm at Rahaniskey, Whitechurch about 7km from Cork city.

His remains were recovered from the slurry tank by members of Cork City Fire Brigade using breathing apparatus and his body was taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH) for a postmortem.

The examination by Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster confirmed that there was nothing suspicious about Mr Twomey's death and that he had died as a result of drowning in the slurry tank.

Mr Twomey went missing in the early hours of December 20th when he failed to return home to Carrignavar village where he and his partner Ciara Byrne live their two young children.

The couple had been attending an 18th birthday party for Mr Twomey’s nephew in Bishopstown in Cork city but left it to visit a relative of Mr Twomey’s in Gurranebraher.

They left the relative’s house on Templeacre Avenue in Gurranebraher at about 2.30am and walked along Knockfree Avenue in Fair Hill where Ms Byrne hailed a taxi home.

According to Ms Byrne, Mr Twomey had not been feeling well and said that he would follow on and make his own way home to Carrignavar some 12km north of the city.

Mr Twomey was seen by a taxi driver walking on the main Cork to Whitechurch road about 1km from Whitechurch village at about 4.20am.

A man fitting his description was then seen about 2.5km from Whitechurch village, walking back towards Cork by another taxi driver at 5.20am. This was the last sighting of him.

Mr Twomey’s phone was found at 11am on December 20th about 100m from the point where he was last seen and near where his body was found on January 28th.

Supt Con Cadogan of Gurranebraher Garda Station, who led the investigation, described his death as “a tragic accident” and sympathised with his family.

He also paid tribute to the local communities in Whitechurch and Carrignavar who had assisted with the search operation over some 39 days, often in poor weather conditions.

He thanked agencies that assisted the search, including the Irish Coastguard, the Civil Defence, Irish Red Cross and the Search and Rescue Dog Association.