A sailing trip along the south-west coast ended in tragedy at the weekend when the bodies of two men were found floating near their upturned dinghy in Glengarriff harbour, Co Cork.
The alarm was raised at 9 a.m. yesterday by Finnish tourists who were walking close to the pier in Glengarriff. The tourists spotted a body in the water and telephoned gardai in Bantry.
The Bantry Inshore Rescue Service and the Castletownbere lifeboat were alerted, and the first body was taken from the water at 9.30 a.m. Shortly afterwards the body of a second man was brought ashore.
Both men were pronounced dead and taken to Bantry General Hospital, where a postmortem examination was carried out.
The two men were Mr Michael Power and Mr Tony O'Mahony.
Mr Power, who was in his early 60s, lived in Monkstown, Co Cork. He was the owner of the 25ft ketch, Simrak, which was attached to the Royal Cork Yacht Club. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and by four children. He had recently retired and was self-employed.
Mr O'Mahony, who was in his late 40s, also lived in Monkstown. A marine engineer at Crosshaven Boatyard, he was also a member of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.
Both men were experienced sailors and had left Cork earlier in the week to cruise along the south-west coast. It is understood that neither was wearing a lifejacket.
Mr Power and Mr O'Mahony apparently went ashore in an inflatable dinghy after mooring the yacht in Glengarriff harbour. It is believed that they had a meal in Glengarriff on Saturday evening and were seen in the town shortly after midnight. The pier at Glengarriff is only a short distance from the inner harbour, where the Simrak was moored.
Flags at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven were at half-mast last night, and the vice-admiral of the club, Mr David O'Brien, said members had been shocked at the news that two colleagues had lost their lives in such tragic circumstances.
"The news was greeted with absolute shock. These were two popular members of the club and our first thoughts must go to their families," Mr O'Brien said.