Louth woman reunited with engagement ring five months after it was lost at sea

Louise Walsh

A Co Louth woman has been reunited with her treasured engagement ring, five months after she lost it in the sea.

Shannon Goss had given up hope of ever seeing her diamond ring again and was about to buy a new one when she received a call from a metal detector enthusiast who had found it on a beach outside Dundalk.

The 26-year-old was only married a year when she was playing ball with students in the sea at Templetown beach when the piece of jewellery along with her wedding ring flew off her fingers into the water.

"I work in a secondary school, and we were on a day out in summer camp at Templetown Beach last June," she said.

"We were playing ball in the water. I can't swim, so I normally only go out until the water hits my knees, but this time, it was chest high.

"I lost my balance and as I threw my hands up in the air, my wedding and engagement rings flew off my fingers.

"We all just froze and stood still for ages. I was so upset so I got out of the water."

Two of her work colleagues, Brendan O'Malley and Jamie King, remained in the water searching for the rings with the aid of a pair of goggles the students had borrowed from another beach-goer. After about an hour, the men found her wedding ring, but there was no sign of the engagement ring.

Shannon posted her loss on social media and was told by a few people to get in touch with Alan Flood, a local man who has found numerous lost rings on the beach with his metal detector.

"I was a mess. I was so upset, and I contacted Alan who, along with some friends of his, searched the beach but didn't find anything.

"By September, I had almost given up hope and my husband Eamonn said he would buy me a new engagement ring for Christmas, so we went online, picked a ring and were due to collect it on Sunday, November 10th but we decided we would hold off collecting it until the end of the month.

"That morning, I got a call out of the blue from James Nolan who knew from Alan that I was looking for my ring. He had a metal detector and had found a ring and asked me for a description.

"A few rings had been found before, but they weren't mine, so I wasn't getting my hopes up when I gave him the description, but then I got a picture back - of James holding my ring. Oh, my gosh, I cried and cried.

"Eamonn and I went straight up to collect it and I have my beautiful ring back thanks to a few lovely, lovely men who don't get enough praise for finding pieces of lost but cherished jewellery on that beach. I just can't thank them enough.

"I got engaged on a beach, I got wedding pictures on a beach, I lost my engagement ring on a beach, and now I found my ring on a beach."