Fisherman named after body recovered from sea off West Cork coast

A fisherman whose body was recovered from off the coast of West Cork has been named locally as Michael Harrington.

Mr Harrington, aged in his 50s, died after his small boat sank while he was fishing alone for pollock near his native Beara on Monday evening.

His loved ones wrote on Rip.ie that he was “deeply mourned by his heartbroken parents Jerome and Anne”, as well as his sisters Ann Marie, Kathleen, Maureen and Helen, his brothers-in-law Martin and Daniel, sister-in-law Debbie, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours, and friends.

Independent councillor for the area Finbarr Harrington said he knew Michael Harrington well. He said: “It’s very sad — it’s one of the dangers that come with a fishing career.

“He’d been fishing all his life and he was a really nice lad whose family would be really respected in the community.

“There’s a deep sense of sadness in the area — my deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and all the community because the fishing community is very tightknit and when something like this happens everyone feels it.” Independent Ireland TD Michael Collins said it was a “very sad story” and conveyed his sympathies to Mr Harrington’s loved ones and the wider fishing community.

“The fishing community in Castletownbere are very united, and it’s a dangerous job, they have to try and make a living in very tough circumstances," he said.

Report of vessel in trouble

At approximately 7.20am, the Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat was tasked by the Irish Coast Guard following a report from a member of the public that a vessel had got into trouble at sea off the coast of Black Ball Head.

A spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre in Valentia told the Echo that a search was undertaken by the lifeboat, with assistance from a Coast Guard helicopter from Shannon and several local fishing boats.

At approximately 8.20am, the body of Mr Harrington was discovered in the water.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed that gardaí in Castletownbere also assisted the Coast Guard in recovering the man’s remains from the water.

The spokesperson said the man’s body has since been removed to the mortuary at Cork University Hospital.

The coroner for West Cork has been notified and an inquest into the man's death will take place in due course.

‘The difficulties that fishermen face’ 

Patrick Murphy, CEO of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, said incidents such as this highlight “the difficulties that fishermen face when they’re trying to make a living”.

“It is a tragic story, but thank God he was found,” said Mr Murphy.

“We are very cognisant of how hard this will be on the family, and we offer our condolences to them on this loss.

“This highlights the risks that people in our industry carry out on a daily basis to feed people ashore and make a living for their families.” “Investigations are ongoing,” the garda spokesperson said.