A WARM and affectionate tribute was paid yesterday to west Cork boating victim Richard Harman by a Church of Ireland clergyman.
Rev Paul Willoughby, who will give a homily at Mr Harman’s funeral service at St Brendan’s Church in Bantry today, said people in west Cork were still reeling from the deaths of Mr Harman (69) and his friends Wolfgang “Mike” Schmidt (70) and Wolfgang Schröder (62).
All three lost their lives when a fire broke out on Mr Schmidt’s motor cruiser, Castaway, on Monday and they were forced to enter the sea. The three along with a fourth man, Eddy Dziato (46), were taken from the sea by an Irish Coastguard helicopter.
Yesterday, Rev Willoughby spoke of the high regard in which Mr Harman was held by all around the region including in Bantry where he was a popular figure, particularly on market Fridays when he a regular in the Square.
“His family are devastated at what happened It’s a terrible tragedy for them but it’s also very sad for the local community here who would have known Richard well. . . His family roots in Adrigole go back at least seven generations.
“He was a very learned and eloquent man – he would frequently quote Yeats and Wordsworth. An absolute character, he was also a very proud Corkman and he loved west Cork,” he said.
Mr Harman, who is survived by his sons, Willie and Richard, and his brothers, Bill and Bob, and his sister, Maureen, will be buried at the Old Cemetery in Adrigole following a funeral service at St Brendan’s in Bantry at 2pm today.
Meanwhile, Mr Schmidt and Mr Schröder, both originally from Germany, will share a joint funeral service on Monday before private cremation services.
A master mariner, Mr Schröder was honoured by former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and the King of Belgium in 1987 for his part in rescuing survivors of the Zeebrugge sea ferry disaster.