THE MOTOR cruiser owned by one of the two men who drowned off Inishbofin, Co Galway, at the weekend has been taken to Galway docks, as investigations continue into the cause of the fatalities.
The 12.5 metre (41ft) motor cruiser Quo Vadis, owned by Castlebar-based businessman Donal McEllin (64), is due to be checked later this week by a consultant for the Marine Casualty Investigation Board. Mr McEllin and Ger Feeney (56) drowned on Sunday.
The cruiser’s dinghy, which the two men had used to travel from Inishbofin pier out to their boat, will also be examined.
A separate Garda investigation led by Supt Tony O’Donnell of Clifden station, is also trying to establish the cause of the incident, which has stunned residents of Castlebar, Co Mayo, where both men lived – and the wider coastal community in Galway and Mayo.
Both men had returned to the motor cruiser early on Sunday morning after socialising on the island and were due to make passage to Galway later that day.
They were accompanied to the pier, and one islander shone his car headlights to ensure that their dinghy had motored safely out to the anchorage. A southeasterly wind had eased considerably, and Inishbofin harbour is renowned for its shelter.
Supt O’Donnell has appealed for anyone with any information that might assist the inquiry to contact the Garda. Mr Feeney and Mr McEllin had made an annual journey by boat to Inishbofin, and were well known on the island.
Mr McEllin, a single man who founded Castlebar airport and was an experienced pilot, swimmer and diver, led a flotilla of boats during the funeral of Clew Bay islander Tommy Gibbons, who drowned in July 2009.
Mr Feeney was a champion GAA footballer and worked with the ESB along with his brother Christy. Originally from Ballintubber, he is survived by his wife Kathleen and four children, Richard, Alan, Dara and Claire, and by two brothers and three sisters.
Castlebar GAA players formed guards of honour last night as the remains of Mr Feeney were removed to the Church of the Holy Rosary in Castlebar, Co Mayo.Among the mourners were former Mayo team-mates from the 1970s and 1980s and members of the current Castlebar Mitchels and Ballintubber GAA clubs.
Mr Feeney will be buried today at Ballintubber Abbey while Mr McEllin’s funeral takes place in Castlebar tomorrow.
