Cork trawler tragedy - Risking life and limb

THE tragic events off the West Cork coast have brought home to the nation the arduous lives of fishermen who go to sea in all weathers in pursuit of a livelihood.

In today’s world, they are the last of the hunter-gatherers, men who brave the elements, literally risking their lives by embarking on a perilous career. They support their families by supplying the general public with the fish that they catch.

Several families and communities, ranging from Ring in Waterford to Union Hall in West Cork, Clonakilty, Dublin and Egypt, have been brought together by a tragedy in which their loved ones have died.

Let us hope that weather conditions will improve to enable the rescue services and volunteers searching on land and at sea recover the bodies of those who are missing. In the aftermath of this awful event, the nation is united in sympathy for the bereaved.