‘I hope another community would help those in peril’

A priest and a retired fisherman have accepted a major award on behalf of an entire community which played a vital role in recovering the bodies of five fishermen who drowned off the West Cork coast.

On the week that marked the first anniversary of the Tit Bonhomme sinking, Bill Deasy and Fr Pierce Cormac received the Cork Person of the Year Award yesterday at a ceremony which was attended by President Michael D Higgins.

Fr Cormac said he and Mr Deasy represented a community which went through a difficult tragedy, but which led to people of all denominations coming together in an effort to find the missing Irish and Egyptian fishermen.