A full-scale Garda and coastguard search off the Clare coast is due to resume first thing today as gardaí investigate what they fear was a triple drowning tragedy on Monday morning.
The remains of one man have already been taken from the sea near Doolin. It is feared that two other men may have drowned when their car went off cliffs at an area known locally as the commonage, half a mile from Doolin, and plunged 70ft into the water below. Tyre tracks were found at the top of a cliff.
The Garda inquiry is concentrating on trying to find two of three men who were drinking together from around 6pm on Sunday in McGann's pub in Doolin and are believed to have bought more drink as they left. Gardaí say they believe the body identified is one of the three. He was in his mid 20s and lived in Ennis.
A sea search began on Monday after a surfer reported seeing a body in the water. The initial search yielded no human remains but the debris of a car was recovered and it was decided the search should continue on Tuesday morning.
The body was recovered by a unit of Doolin Coastguard at 6.50am and taken for a postmortem examination to the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick.
Two men who knew the dead man and were believed to have been with him in the pub, are missing. Gardaí say they believe all three may have driven to the cliff top and went over the edge.
While the incident had all the appearances of an accident, gardaí said they could not "fully rule out" the possibility that a crime had taken place although a source thought this unlikely.
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