Father prays sea will give up missing men

The grieving father of the youngest victim of the Tit Bonhomme sinking told mourners at his son’s requiem Mass he hoped the sea would give up the bodies of the two remaining missing crewmen.

At the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Clonakilty, Co Cork, yesterday, Patrick Kershaw said Kevin, 21, “was second to none, top of the range”. He said he was “very proud to be Kevin’s father”.

He added that his family were praying the bodies of the trawler’s skipper Michael Hayes, 52, and Egyptian crewman Saied Aly Eldin, 24, would be recovered from Glandore Bay where the boat sank after hitting rocks last Sunday week.

The bodies of two other crewmen, both Egyptian, have also been recovered. One other Egyptian was the only survivor of the tragedy.

Mr Kershaw thanked local people for turning out in huge numbers on the search and praised the emergency services for recovering his son’s body. It was Kevin’s first trip to sea.

Pictures of the young man adorned his coffin as did a floral wreath decorated as a jersey of his beloved Chelsea Football Club.

Chief concelebrant, Monsignor Leonard O’Brien, said Kevin had come to live in Clonakilty six years ago and bonded well, making numerous friends in the community.

He said only a few days previously Kevin’s friend and road bowling mentor Donal “Sparky” O’Sullivan had died unexpectedly.

Mr O’Sullivan had been involved in the searches of the bay for his young friend’s body. “Kevin would have made a great road bowler like other members of his family,” he said.

After Mass, mourners walked alongside the funeral cortege to Convent Road on the edge of the town and paused outside the house where he had lived with his aunt.

His coffin was then driven to Dublin where he remained overnight at St Mary’s Priory Church in his native Tallaght. Kevin will be buried in Saggart today.

Meanwhile, the search to find the missing crewmen will continue today.

There was a sense of despondency at the search headquarters at Union Hall yesterday as driving rain and strong winds hampered the operation.

Coastguard co-ordinator Hugh Barry said the conditions were causing some fatigue among the 150 or so involved in the search.

Bill Deasy, a fisherman helping to co-ordinate voluntary efforts, said locals were providing free accommodation for relatives and friends of the missing men.