Home is the hero home from the sea

WHEN the remains of missing diver Billy O’Connor were brought ashore on Saturday, the 150 people who had gathered on Kilmore Quay applauded. The hero had finally returned home.

Mr O’Connor died while diving in the search for Pat Colfer, the skipper of the Rising Sun. Mr Colfer, a father-of-two from Slade in Co Wexford, has been missing since the boat capsized on November 29.

As the search Mr Colfer continued off the Wexford coast yesterday for the 12th day, Tommy O’Connor said he and his family can now finally grieve. He said the family’s thoughts and prayers are now with the relatives Mr Colfer.Mr O’Connor’s removal takes place tonight at 7pm. His funeral takes place at noon tomorrow from his parish Church in New Ross. His family still have no idea what caused the experienced diver to drown.

“Our thoughts now and our prayers now are with the Colfer family. We just hope to God that Pat is found and that his family can have closure, as we have. We have moved on. What we do now is grieve.

“The Colfers still have to bring Pat home. We hope that this will happen sooner rather than later,” Tommy O’Connor added.

His brother’s remains will be removed from Cooney’s Funeral Home in New Ross tonight. Mr O’Connor was one of the divers involved in the recovery from the Pisces which sunk off Wexford in July 2002, of the remains of the Cooneys’ father, Jim, brother-in-law, Seamus Doyle, and 14 year-old nephew, Mark Doyle.

When Billy O’Connor, aged 49, would recover a body during any of his many dives over the years, he would always go to the family and meet with them, his brother said.

“When they brought Billy’s remains ashore in Kilmore Quay yesterday, there were between 100 and 150 people there. When his remains came in, every last one of us clapped. The hero has come home,” he said.

Cpt Geoff Livingston of the Irish Coastguard said pin-pointing his remains is difficult. “Pat possibly fell into the water when the vessel capsized. Obviously then its harder to pinpoint his location. We will, of course, continue to search for his remains. We will do that around the wreck site.

“But when that is exhausted, we will move the operation to where we assumed the vessel was when she capsized,” he added.

Crewmember Jimmy Meyler, aged 47, from Ballyhack in Co Wexford, was picked up from the water but was later pronounced dead in hospital after attempts to resuscitate him failed. The other crew member who survived is 26-year-old Ian Tierney from Wexford.