Tributes to Italian student who lost his life in Cork ahead of his funeral

Tributes have been paid to a PHD student from Italy who died whilst rock climbing in Baltimore, Co Cork, on September 4.

Lorenzo de Bonis, 27, who lived in Blackpool on the northside of Cork city, will be laid to rest in his native Italy on Friday.

The marine biologist, who was studying at UCC, was climbing at Fox’s Cliff at Eastern Hole in Baltimore Harbour when the accident occurred. The alarm was raised at 8.30pm last Thursday after his partner was unable to contact him. A search was carried out and halted at 1am on Friday. It resumed at 6am, and his body was later recovered by a local diver.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) stated that Lorenzo loved all outdoor activities, including sailing and climbing.

“It was the latter that led to his untimely passing when he fell while climbing off Baltimore, Co Cork,” it stated. “Thank-you to the lifeboat and local boat people who recovered his body for his family to mourn and bury.

“Our sincere condolences to his parents, Concetta and Riccardo, and his partner Signe. Our hearts go out to you all.

“Lorenzo will live on in our hearts, and we will ensure his work will be published.”

The team at the IWDG said that Lorenzo first reached out to them when he was completing a placement: “It was online, but Lorenzo and fellow student Michiel De Boeck contributed a lot despite the distance between us all. Both Michiel and Lorenzo prepared short podcasts on our Shannon Dolphin research.

“One of Lorenzo’s stories [involved] encountering a grey whale in the Mediterranean during one of the many yacht-based surveys he carried out. He wrote a lovely piece for our summer 2021 edition of the IWDG magazine.”

The group added that Lorenzo travelled to ATU Galway to complete his third semester and stayed to carry out his MSc project on the genetics of bottlenose dolphins.

“His work with ATU and the IWDG on updating our knowledge on bottlenose dolphin genetics was very useful, but his exploration of the genetics of some of the solitary dolphins in Ireland was truly remarkable... This work is ready to be submitted for publication, and we will ensure it is published in his memory.”