Family to bring drowned man’s remains home
The department said it was offering consular assistance through the Irish embassy in Madrid as the family of Ciaran Brown tried to come to terms with the tragedy.
Mr Brown, 44, died after going for an afternoon swim at Playa Grande on the Spanish holiday island where he was enjoying a new year’s break with his wife Celine and sons Ciaran Jr and Eoin.
Voluntary emergency crews who helped pull him from the waves made attempts to resuscitate him on the beach until an ambulance arrived. Para-medics worked on him for almost an hour while his family looked on.
Local reports said the sea was very rough at the time of the incident on Saturday and red flags were up warning against swimming. It is not yet known if the difficult conditions caused the tragedy or if Mr Brown became ill while in the water.
It was the second death in the family in three years. Mr Brown’s son Michael died in Dec 2009 after losing his battle against injuries received in a car crash the previous month.
Mr Brown, who lived at Kylemore Drive, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was popular in the area, and had a large and close extended family who paid tribute last night, describing him as a “wonderful brother-in-law”.
He was a Dublin GAA fan and enthusiastically house-proud, known to be meticulous in maintaining the family’s end-of-terrace home. The holiday was the family’s first trip together since Michael’s death but they had been encouraged to get away after Ciaran Jr previously enjoyed a break on the island.
Playa Grande is a popular beach at Puerto del Carmen, a resort which hosts thousands of Irish tourists every year.
The sea can be unpredictable, with locals saying hidden currents beneath the waves present the greatest hazard to those unfamiliar with the conditions. Between 10 and 20 foreign tourists drown there each year.
It is expected to take several days before arrangements can be finalised for the repatriation of Mr Brown’s remains.
