The search for two missing men, feared killed when their jeep plunged from cliffs into the Atlantic, continued off the Clare coast yesterday in severe weather conditions.
The body of a third man, found on the stoney beach near Doolin village at 7am on Tuesday, has been identified as Martin Griffin, a 24-year-old carpenter from Ennis.
It was confirmed yesterday that the postmortem carried out on Mr Griffin's body by assistant State pathologist Dr Michael Curtis showed he died of head injuries.
Chief Supt John Kerin speculated yesterday that the injuries may have occurred as the jeep hit a number of ledges on the cliff face as it dropped into the Atlantic.
Mr Griffin is believed to have travelled to Doolin last Sunday with two workmates - possibly on a camping trip for the bank holiday weekend - and to have arrived at McGann's pub in the village at around 6pm.
They were last seen outside the pub at 1.30am on Monday, having purchased bottles of vodka and whiskey.
They then travelled a short distance up a road behind Doolin village and on to a narrow, unlit, potholed cul-de-sac above Doonagore Bay, used only by tourists and farmers.
At some point, their green Suzuki Vitara plunged 20 metres into the sea, leaving an oil slick close to a steep shelf in the sea bed. The two men, aged 34 and 31, were reported missing by family members on Wednesday evening.
Gardaí have issued an appeal for information to anyone who may have seen them or the car between 6pm on Sunday and midday on Monday.
Eleven-foot waves and gale-force winds lashed the west Clare shoreline yesterday.
Poor under-water visibility and high tides prevented Garda divers from entering the water.
Their next "window of opportunity", according to Supt Éamon Dolan, will be tomorrow when weather conditions are expected to improve.
However, 20 volunteers from the local Coast Guard unit continued to comb the area from 7am until dark.
The search yielded up pieces of clothing, shoes and padding from a vehicle, according to Mattie Shannon, the Coast Guard area officer.
"We usually find shoes but today we found pairs of shoes which is unusual," he added.
Debris from a vehicle, including mangled panels and a windscreen, were found in the sea on Wednesday.
A family member of one of the men paid a brief visit to the scene yesterday.
Martin Griffin's remains will lie in Kennedy's funeral home in Ennis this evening from 5.30 to 7.30. His funeral Mass will be in Ennis Cathedral at 11am tomorrow.
Chief Supt Kerin said: "There is no evidence that the car was driven over the cliff edge and we believe that it just rolled over the edge. It is an awful accident and tragedy and may have been caused by someone accidentally kicking the jeep out of gear."
The men may have slept in the jeep overnight on farmland overlooking Doonagore Bay.
Chief Supt Kerin confirmed that a green jeep was sighted on grass facing the cliffs at Doonagore Bay, one km south of Doolin, by a walker at 10am last Monday.
When the walker was returning home at 10.45am, there was no sign of the jeep, leading gardaí to believe the vehicle plunged off the cliffs during the intervening period.
All three men were working on the construction of the East Clare Golf Holiday Village in Bodyke and the site was closed yesterday as a mark of respect.