THE SOLE survivor of the fishing tragedy that claimed three lives led yesterday’s cortege following a double funeral service in Glengarriff, west Cork.
Ed Dziato (46) acted as lead pallbearer as he shouldered the coffin of his friend Wolfgang “Mike” Schmidt (70) from the Church of the Sacred Heart.
The remains of Wolfgang Schroder (62), from Bantry, were carried alongside those of Mr Schmidt in a poignant final journey for two seafaring friends and fishermen.
Mr Schmidt and Mr Schroder, originally from Germany, had come to west Cork to be by the sea, parish priest Fr Pádraig Kennelly told about 150 mourners gathered at yesterday’s funeral ceremony.
The brothers and sons of Richard Harman, the third man who died in last week’s fishing accident, were among those who turned out to pay their respects.
“They were four friends who got together for a day of fishing, jokes and fun, to be out at sea and to be free,” Fr Kennelly said.
He told mourners that Mr Schmidt, affectionately known as “Mike”, had joined the merchant navy at age 14. He had excelled at his chosen career to become a master mariner, and spent 45 years of his life at sea.
From an early age, Mr Schroder, who lived at Saskia in Bantry, had chosen a seafaring path. “Wolfgang had dreamed of being a seaman since growing up in a small village in northern Germany. He achieved his dream,” Fr Kennelly said.
Both men had come to west Cork, where the sea is “part of the fabric of life”, Fr Kenelly said.
“The sea can be a great friend, but it can also be a devastating enemy. Just as it gives life, it takes life away and here in west Cork we are no strangers to such tragedy.
“Richard, who was full of life, Wolfgang, who loved life, and Mike, who lived life to the full, were all taken away too quickly, so cruelly, without even a chance to say goodbye.
“The pain is heartbreaking. Our community here will be a poorer place without Mike, Wolfgang and Richard. May they rest in peace,” Fr Kennelly added.
Family members shed quiet tears as local musician John Coakley filled the chapel with the haunting notes of The Lonesome Boatman on the whistle.
A picture of each man, together with a book of condolence, rested on a table next to the caskets on the altar.
Bantry Bay harbourmaster Alec O’Donovan and Bantry’s Cllr Mary Hegarty joined a large group of local businesspeople, including Nancy Harrington and her son, Dennis, of the Maple Leaf bar, Maureen MacCarthy and the O’Shea family, to offer their condolences to Mr Schroder’s wife, Kristina, and the wife of Mr Schmidt, Ina.
A number of weekly stall holders who sold their wares next to Mr Schroder at Bantry market were among those who shook hands with relatives as Claire Connelly and Claire Russell sang a moving rendition of Bantry Bay from the church gallery.
Both men were cremated following yesterday’s double funeral ceremony.