Irish join search for relatives

THE brother and cousin of a young Irishman not heard from since the catastrophic tsunami were among those who arrived in Thailand at the weekend to search for loved ones.

Michael Murphy, 23, from Ballyconnigar, Co Wexford, had been travelling in Australia and Asia since graduating with a degree in Nautical Science from Cork Institute of Technology a year ago.

He had recently left a job in Sydney to explore Thailand and phoned home on Christmas Day to let them know he was on his way to the island of Ko Pha Ngan.