In memory of the missing

THE mother and siblings of a fisherman lost at sea lit candles in his memory on the dock of a small Cork town yesterday.

Relatives of Kevin Kershaw, who was on the Tit Bonhomme trawler when it sank off Union Hall on Sunday, placed pictures of the missing crew at a makeshift memorial.

Diving to the trawler resumed at first light today. The search teams hope conditions will be favourable for an extensive search of the vessel.

The Tit Bonhomme was returning to Union Hall at about 6am in force 7-8 southeasterly winds when it ran aground. For the first time yesterday, Garda and navy divers managed to get to the trawler, but there was still no sign of the bodies of the five missing men.

Diving was suspended at about 7pm due to swells. However, divers plan to use remote devices to search the trawler today.

Coastguard coordinator Gerard O’Flynn said the dives yesterday were preliminary. He said reaching the vessel was part of the air, sea and land search and there was no guarantee the men would be there.

In terms of the overall search, the dive team makes up 20 of 200 people being coordinated from the quays.

Kevin Kershaw’s father Paddy said he was overwhelmed by the support from the community and all they were doing to support the families.

“Everyone is in this together here. It was great to see the Egyptian community join with us in prayer and it just goes to show that we are all the same... Tragedies like this show that.”

Fr Pierce Cormac, who is on the quays each day, said it was important to keep the families’ spirits up.

“People who have experienced tragedies like this have travelled down here in solidarity with the family — people from Kerry, the west of Ireland, Dunmore East [Co Waterford] and from fishing communities in Cork are sharing their experiences with them... They came of their own accord and of course it’s difficult, because it brings it all back for them.”

He said people were giving over their houses for families of the lost men, and money was being donated to a fund at the AIB in Skibbereen.

Account number: 10009183, sort code: 936375.