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Updated at 2.20pm
THE TWO MEN who died when their SUV was swept away by floodwaters in Co Mayo have been named.
Martin Needham (27) and Declan Davitt (26) died when their 4×4 vehicle entered the water of the Carrownisky River near Louisburgh in the early hours of Christmas Day.
It’s understood they were attempting to cross a stretch of the river that had become swollen after heavy rain.
A third occupant, aged 19, was able to escape the vehicle and raise the alarm.
The two men’s bodies were found after a large-scale search involving the Garda Water Unit, Irish Coast Guard members and local gardaí.
Funeral arrangements for the two young men, who were from the area, have been confirmed.
Martin Needham will be laid to rest following a funeral mass at the Church of the Holy Family, Killeen, on Thursday morning.
Declan Davitt’s funeral will take place at the same church the following day.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring, who is from Mayo, has expressed his condolences to the families.
In a statement today, Ring said:
I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of Declan Davitt and Martin Needham who have died in such tragic circumstances. I know the families of both men very well.
People throughout Mayo are shocked by this terrible tragedy. The community in Louisburgh shares the grief of the families and will support them in the difficult times ahead.
A number of local councillors have also expressed their condolences to the families.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Mayo county councillor Michael Holmes said:
“It would be a terrible tragedy at anytime of the year, but it is particularly tragic on Christmas morning.
They are three local, highly respected families in the area, they are really respected families. It’s just a real tragedy.
Too many people in the area couldn’t enjoy their Christmas dinner yesterday. It’s really sad, it has put a real cloud over the area.
In a message on Facebook, the local Macra na Feirme branch described it as an “unbelievably numbing day”, and said the two men had been valued members and “absolute gentlemen”.
Mayo county councillor Christy Hyland told TheJournal.ie: “Their families and friends are in our thoughts and our prayers at this very, very difficult time.
The whole community is totally numbed by this tragedy.
“The two men were at the prime of their lives. They had their whole lives ahead of them.”
The two men’s bodies were removed to Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar in the wake of yesterday’s search.
Post-mortem examinations are expected to take place today.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin
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Hang on a second !
Hold on there now…time lord is a legit occupation?
This is great news. I’m really going to use this extra time to catch up on all those little jobs I’ve meaning to get around to, or perhaps a lie in would be better.
I had an anti climax once. She met a fella on a cruise after a few vodkas.
I don’t understand most of that.
Good. I work in IT and the more people who do not understand it, the more we can charge (rubs hands with glee, pets white cat on lap…. muohahahah !)
As the earth’s rotation slows, days are getting longer
Y2K was a damp squib, nothing happened, but lots of it companies made a lot of money out of it.
but maybe if all that money and effort was not spent it would have been a very wet squib?
I mean a very dry squib of course.
what is a squib and why is a damp one such an anticlimax?
a squib is type of explosive , a damp one won’t explode.
……you sir, are a fountain of knowledge…. now I need to look this up, where did I leave my google?
Actually issues did happen:
http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/~eroberts/cs91/projects/y2k/Y2K_Errors.html
Also, most bank software programmers [and this was mostly in COBOL at the time] spent a long time working crazy hours getting sh*t together and correct so that stuff like applying 99 years of credit to accounts wouldnt happen.
There is another one feasibly going to come in 2038 when the unix epoch time rolls over to zero again. Thankfully it only affects 32-bit-integer related systems, but still gonna be hilarious….
B
A squib was a very little stick of dynamite that you could buy in the boys store before all this health and safety nonsense took hold. When a kid was allowed matches you could light them to blow up little bunkers of sand where the enemy toy soldiers were, classic.
God says: To me a thousand years is but a second. However I will grant you your greatest wish.
Pope Francis: Okay God I wish to win the Euro Lotto €180,000,000.
God says: Your wish is granted!! Wait a second!!!!!
Is it April the 1st?
If it was that would be nearly 4 months less.
This is very confusing
It isn’t really confusing.
I’m delighted for you. But I find it is.
A day lasts 24hrs because that’s how long it takes to spin around once. Except that its always gradually slowing down so the eggheads add an extra second to one particular day every few years to compensate. This angers god hugely, who retaliates by setting off volcanoes and smiting old people, etc.
have your say