‘My family have drowned, I know they have. My father, my brother, and his girlfriend’

A 14-year-old girl yesterday recounted the moment when she saw her father attempt to rescue her brother and her brother’s girlfriend when a freak wave swept them out to sea, only for all three to lose their lives.

Charlotte Davis Ryan was at Baltimore in West Cork with her father, Barry Ryan, 51, her brother, Barry Davis Ryan, 20, and his girlfriend, Niamh O’Connor, also 20, on June 30, 2015 when tragedy struck.

All four were fishing on the eastern side of the Beacon near Baltimore when a freak wave hit. Niamh and Barry Davis Ryan were swept out to sea, and Barry Davis went to their assistance only to get into difficulty himself.