Baltimore drownings: ‘Please help find my son and bring him back’

The mother of a student who has been missing since he was swept into the sea at Baltimore, Co Cork, last week has made an emotional appeal for more divers to help find her son and “bring him back”.

Visibly shaken, Ann Davis said she has experienced a huge loss and thanked everyone who has been helping her through this difficult time.

Barry Davis Ryan, a 21-year-old student at the Cork Institute of Technology, was among a group of people walking near the Beacon at Baltimore Harbour on July 30 when tragedy struck.

Barry Davis Ryan

A freak wave swept one of the walkers, Mr Ryan’s 20-year-old girlfriend Niamh O’Connor, out to sea. Both Mr Ryan, and his father Barry Ryan Sr, 51, died trying to save her, while his sister Charlotte, 13, raised the alarm.

Ms O’Connor, who worked in Penneys in Cork City, and Mr Ryan Sr, a senior executive at the retail giant, were rescued from the sea shortly after the incident occurred, but were pronounced dead at the scene.

They were laid to rest following separate funerals in Glounthane and Baltimore at the weekend.

The search for Barry Davis Ryan is ongoing, but has been hampered by poor weather conditions. Diving ceased on Monday afternoon and is not expected to resume until this evening at the earliest.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Ms Davis described her son as “a lovely boy”, who, like his father, was “very intelligent” and well-liked. She called the two ‘Big Barry’ and ‘Small Barry’.

“They had a great relationship. He was a very good father. They got on great together,” she said, and went on to describe Ms O’Connor as her son’s “soul mate”.

“She was a beautiful girl. Lovely laugh. Very happy, you know? A happy-go-lucky girl, just beautiful,” she said.

“When I heard that two were gone and Barry was missing… What can you say? I still can’t believe it. It’s just hard to come to terms with.”

Ms Davis said she did not know how to thank those already involved in the search for her son and hopes more people will volunteer to help bring him home.

So far, more than 40 experienced divers have responded to the nationwide appeal, and are due to arrive in West Cork this week.

Anyone with accommodation to spare in the area is being asked to help with sleeping arrangements, while locals are being asked to lend a hand by making sandwiches and organising refreshments for the divers.

Calmer weather is expected for tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. Any experienced divers who are free to join the search should report to the local coastguard.