The round-the-world voyage in aid of the Chernobyl Children's Project in Cork, which had to be cut short by five members of the Coveney family due to their father's death on March 14th, will resume on Friday.
The five Coveneys who had undertaken the voyage on the family yacht, Golden Apple, were Simon (25), Rory (23), twins Andrew and Tony (21), and Rebecca (19).
Yesterday evening, Mr Rory Coveney said the voyage would continue with four members of the family. Mr Simon Coveney, who had captained the yacht as far as the Galapagos Islands, would remain at home to attend to family matters.
His three brothers and sister will fly out to Tahiti on Friday, and from there they will sail to Fiji, Australia, Bali, India, finally returning to the Mediterranean in June of next year before returning to Cork. They have already raised £20,000 for the Chernobyl Children's Project and their aim is to raise £1 million.
The charity voyage was made possible by a personal sponsorship from their father of almost £150,000.
Mr Coveney died while walking his dogs on cliffs at Robert's Cove, Cork harbour, on March 14th. Last week, an inquest was told that, contrary to suggestions that he had fallen from a great height, he died as a result of drowning.
It appeared that when one of the dogs was unable to negotiate a steep cliff face, Mr Coveney made his way down the cliff and slipped on rocks, gashing himself above the right eye. The inquest was told that Mr Coveney was wearing old sailing shoes with bare soles and, given the treacherous terrain, a slip or a fall would not be unlikely.
The Coveney family has decided that none of its members will contest the seat left vacant in Cork South Central as a result of their father's death. Speaking to The Irish Times two weeks ago, Mr Patrick Coveney (27), the eldest of the Coveney children, said their father had always advised them not to enter public life until they had first achieved something positive in their own lives.
Since Mr Coveney's death, the family has been debating whether the voyage should be resumed in honour of his memory. According to Mr Patrick Coveney, the death of his father brought home to the family the frailty of life and the decision on whether the voyage should continue would have much to do with his mother's perception of the risks to her family.
However, Mrs Pauline Coveney has now given her blessing and it is intended that she will join her family when it reaches the Fiji leg of its voyage next month. Originally it was planned that she and Mr Coveney would join the family members when they reached Australia.
Last Christmas, the couple, together with their youngest son, David (15), travelled to the Caribbean to spend two weeks with the family on board the yacht.