Two bodies have been recovered from rivers in Co Clare today following separate incidents.
One is understood to be that of a man for whom a search was mounted in Ennis over a fortnight ago while the second is that of another man believed to have fallen into a river in Newmarket on Fergus overnight.
In Ennis, a body was located and recovered from the River Fergus at around 1.30pm today. The discovery was made soon after local Clare Civil Defence personnel recommenced their daily search for a missing man. Civil Defence volunteers have searched the river every day since the alarm was first raised.
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This afternoon, on day 16 of the search, a body was found in the water close to a railway bridge about a kilometre downstream from where the missing man was last seen.
The alarm was originally raised late on the evening of November 10 when a man was observed entering the water at the Club Bridge in Ennis town centre. A significant multi-agency search and rescue operation was quickly mounted, however when there was no sign of the man by 2.30am, emergency services for stood down for the night.
That operation involved Gardaí; units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station; the National Ambulance Service; Clare Civil Defence; Doolin Coast Guard unit and the Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115.
Civil Defence members have undertaken daily search operations since the man was first reported to have entered the water while Rescue 115 has also carried out sweeps along the length of the river.
Divers from the Garda Water Unit based in Athlone and Santry (Dublin) also took part in the searches while divers from a number of sub aqua clubs, all affiliated to Diving Ireland - Southwest Region, joined the search over two weekends.
Soon after Civil Defence personnel resumed their search this afternoon, the spotted the man’s body in the water. The body was taken from the water and recovered to a local slipway where he was formally pronounced dead by a local doctor.
Gardaí were advised and made their way to the scene while a local undertaker was also requested to attend. The man’s body has been removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out later.
Separately today, in Newmarket on Fergus also in Co Clare, the body of a man was located in a river that flows through the village. While details of the discovery are vague, it’s understood the man may have fallen into the water during the night.
The body was recovered from the water shortly after 2pm and removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem will be carried out later.
A Garda spokesman confirmed: “A body was removed from the water at Newmarket on Fergus in Co. Clare earlier today.”
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