Families endure agonising wait

THE vigil continued on the pierside from first light.

Family members of the five men feared drowned after their herring boat went down off the coast of Hook Head in stormy conditions on Wednesday evening huddled together as they awaited news.

As the day wore on, hopes faded for the safe return of skipper of the Pere Charles, Tom Hennessy, 32, along with his uncle Pat Hennessy, 51 — both originally from Co Kerry but living in Dunmore East for several years — and other crew members Billy O’Connor, from Dunmore East, 50, Pat Coady, 27, originally from Wexford but also living in Dunmore East, and Andriy Dyrin, 32, a Ukrainian national living in Waterford city for the last three months

“It’s just a waiting game now,” said Pat Coady’s sister Kelly yesterday evening.

Kelly had no idea that her brother was even out at sea until she heard on Tuesday night that a boat had gone down off Hook Head, and subsequently found out that her brother was on board.

From the time the alarm was sounded by Tom Hennessy around 6pm on Tuesday evening, family members of the five men kept a constant presence close to the waterfront in Dunmore East, praying for a miracle.

But as the day lengthened, hopes for a safe return for the fishermen gradually turned to hopes for the recovery of their bodies from the sea.

Owner of the Pere Charles, Michael Walsh, had a sleepless night on Tuesday. “I’m totally devastated,” he said yesterday afternoon. “It will take time for the shock to sink in. We’re waiting here, hoping for miracles but as time goes on the chances are getting slimmer and slimmer. Hopefully, if they are gone, they’ll be able to bring their bodies in.”

Since buying the Pere Charles — which was originally constructed in France in 1982 — about a year ago, Mr Walsh has installed new marine electronics, a new CCTV system and new timbers in the craft, making it one of the most modern in the region.

When asked what he thought may have caused the tragedy, he replied: “Freak. A freak wave got it, a series of unfortunate events. Whatever happened, happened in a split second. I don’t think the (fish) catch would have slipped and unbalanced the boat. We’d only fitted out the boat with new timbers. I think he was in control and something else hit the boat.”

Mr Walsh spoke to Tom Hennessy at least five times on Tuesday as the fish catch was progressing, a normal procedure.

While the normal business of the busy, working harbour that is Dunmore East continued yesterday, the noise of search helicopters and the constant presence of gardaí was a reminder to the locals of the tragedy unfolding.

In mid-morning, gardaí confirmed that a life raft had been found near Kilmore Quay, while just before 2pm word came through that a second life raft had been found near the Saltee Islands.

The Garda Water Unit along with divers arrived at the quay at 2pm and preparations continued throughout the afternoon for a dive search, while navy divers arrived just before 4pm.

However, changeable and windy weather conditions made it uncertain that the divers would be able to get into the water as the evening progressed.

Relatives waiting, mostly in silence near the waterfront, were comforted by parish priest Fr Brian Power, while Minister for Transport and TD for the Waterford constituency, Martin Cullen, also arrived at the RNLI station to offer his sympathies.