Christmas Day drowning victim Martin Needham is laid to rest

Martin was of one of the two men who died in the Christmas Day accident in Co Mayo.

The funeral has taken place of one of the men who died in a Christmas Day accident in Co Mayo.

Martin Needham and his friend Declan Davitt drowned when the 4 X 4 jeep they were travelling in was submerged in the Carrowniskey River near Louisburgh.

27-year-old Martin's funeral took place at the Church of the Holy Family in Killeen at midday.

Declan Davitt's funeral will take place tomorrow.

The two agricultural workers were friends since childhood. Mr Davitt's relation Peter Sweeney said: "The boys were inseparable."

They were returning after a night socialising with friends in the early hours of Christmas morning and were crossing a stretch of water near Louisburgh that had become swollen in bad weather. There were gale force winds and water levels were high.

Initial reports suggested the vehicle became submerged as it crossed the river and was then carried downstream. How the tragedy happened is the subject of a Garda investigation and post-mortem examinations took place on Tuesday.

Another man, aged 19, managed to escape and raised the alarm at around 3am.

The dead men's bodies were found on Christmas afternoon after a major search operation involving Garda divers and the Coastguard.

They were both single but had large family circles who are well-known in the area.

Declan Davitt.