Council falls silent in memory of fishermen

Cork County Council members stood in silence yesterday as one of its members recited the Fisherman’s Prayer in remembrance of the dead and those still missing from the trawler Tit Bonhomme.

As the search continued for two of the crewmen, including the skipper, Michael Hayes, many councillors said their thoughts were with the bereaved families and those still waiting for news.

Fine Gael Cllr Adrian Healy — the councillor who lives nearest to Glandore Bay, where the trawler sank last Sunday week — read out the prayer and led tributes to the people of Glandore, Union Hall and other parts of West Cork who were voluntarily giving of their time to aid the search.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Kevin O’Keeffe said many cash-strapped pensioners were not only giving of their time but were also providing free food for search teams.

He said the council should take some money out of its €1m community fund to reimburse the people of Union Hall, in particular, who were doing so much to help the fishermen’s families.

Fine Gael Cllr Michael Hegarty pointed out that his party colleague, Cllr Dermot Sheehan, was unable to attend yesterday’s meeting in County Hall as he was a volunteer with Civil Defence coastal rescue units and was involved in the continuing search for the two missing crewmen.

The mayor of Co Cork, Cllr Tim Lombard, said he had visited Union Hall to see at first hand the ongoing operation.

“There is great community support down there.

“Locals had a soup kitchen set up within hours. The entire community in West Cork has come together on this.

“We must also remember that the navy and garda diving units are there, that the Irish Coast Guard and our own local Civil Defence are doing a great job too.”

“My thoughts and prayers, as I’m sure of all those here, are with the families of the three crewmen whose bodies have been recovered and with the families of the two crewmen who are still missing. I hope there’s news on them in the next few days,” he said.