Clare beach deaths not suspicious, say gardaí

GARDAÍ are investigating the discovery of the bodies of two middle-aged women on a Co Clare beach yesterday.

The grim find was made at around 10.30am at White Strand, near Miltown Malbay, by a person out walking at the popular bathing area.

The bodies were found yards from a British-registered Citroen car, believed to have belonged to one of the women.

Gardaí from Ennistymon located the bodies beyond a low wall. Both women were fully clothed, and their clothing was wet. It wasn’t clear whether they had been in the water or drenched by the tide. The women lay approximately 10 feet apart.

Gardaí from Ennis attended the scene while Irish Coast Guard personnel from Doolin were called in to assist with cordoning off the area.

Garda technical experts carried out an examination and at about 1.30pm, two hearses arrived and a tow- truck transported the car to Ennis Garda Station where it will be technically examined.

The bodies were taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where assistant state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis was due to carry out postmortem examinations last night.

Gardaí are examining a number of theories, including the possibility that the women died as a result of a tragic accident.

The tide was out at the time of the discovery but the sea was rough. The last high tide was at about 3am, which could mean the women died late on Thursday night. It is not known how long the bodies had lain there.

A garda spokesman said he was satisfied, pending the outcome of the postmortems, that the deaths were not suspicious. He said: “We are investigating the cause of death but we don’t know what happened. It could be the case that one of the women fell into the water and the other went to help her. We will have to wait and see what the postmortems show up.”

It is understood that the women are from Wales. There was very little clothing or luggage found in the car, leading gardaí to believe that the women had connections in Clare or had been staying in local accommodation.

A dog found in their vehicle was removed from the scene by the ISPCA.

White Strand is a quiet area less than 3km from Miltown Malbay.

One local man said: “This is an awful tragedy at a really beautiful spot.

“This is one of the most popular spots in Clare and even during the winter you’d often meet a few hardy souls going for a swim here. It is awfully sad.”