Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 13 Nov 2024
A MAJOR SEARCH operation resumed today to locate a woman missing off Silverstrand in Galway Bay.
Emergency services launched a multi-agency search after reports that a woman in her 30s was missing after swimming at Silverstrand. A man in his 70s was also reported missing at the same beach at the same time, in a separate incident.
The search team yesterday evening located the body of the man who was later identified as renowned singer and songwriter Johnny Duhan (74).
Over 250 volunteers joined rescue teams in the search along the shoreline, while a variety of crafts searched the water throughout the day.
The woman, who is in her early 30s and from Spiddal in Galway, went missing after going for a dip in the sea at Silverstrand near Barna, about seven kilometres west of Galway city.
The alarm was raised initially after songwriter Johnny Duhan, a daily swimmer at Silverstrand, was reported missing when he failed to return to his home in Barna.
Concern was raised for the welfare of the woman when she did not arrive for work and the search was upgraded when her car was located at Silverstrand.
Mr Duhan’s body was found at lunchtime yesterday but an extensive search from the docks in Galway city to Spiddal in Connemara failed to yield any sign of the missing woman.
Gardaí say they are treating the two incidents separately but Supt Paudie O’Shea said they are keeping an open mind on what happened.
“The sequence of events is still a puzzle to us,” he said. “Both parties would have arrived here separately, and they would have been keen and avid visitors to this area, and they would have planned for a dip in the sea each each morning.
“I wouldn’t like to speculate, but it’s quite unusual here in Silverstrand. Yesterday morning, the tide would have been out, so you can actually go out a good distance before you reach water.
“The fog was descended, so it’s a possibility that they got disorientated within that because even here yesterday evening, the fog was lifting and dropping within seconds. So even today, I’m told if you go out a mile, a mile and a half, it’s clear. The fog is hugging the coastline here. So, again, it’s just the nature, what was happening here yesterday morning was quite unique.”
Galway Civil Defence set up a command and control unit at Silverstrand and the search began at first light with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter 117 from Waterford involved in the search.
Superintendent O’Shea paid tribute to all the agencies and the individual volunteers who participated in the search, which will resume again at first light on Thursday morning.
“The fog did descend in the afternoon and impeded the search efforts,” added Supt O’Shea. “We did manage to get Rescue 117 up here to provide top cover for us, but it did prove challenging.
“We would like to extend our thanks to the local community in Galway, in particular the support that we got and the care and the assistance we got from that community has been overwhelming.
“We had people on the ground from out west, from Spiddal. They came in here and also from here in as far the docks. We had 120 people who arrived here alone at this one location. And I would safely say we had a similar volume of people out in Spiddal, more people on the Prom in Salthill. The response from the community was massive and we want to reaffirm our thanks to the local community.
“We will expand the search tomorrow if we have to,” added Supt O’Shea.
Silverstrand Beach is a popular beach in Galway located between Salthill and Barna.
Galway Civil Defence have set up a command and control unit at Silverstrand and Gardai have appealed to volunteer searchers to register their participation at this unit before they start.
“Weather conditions are forecast to be challenging and personal safety is paramount,” said a Garda spokesperson.
Volunteers have been combing the shoreline on foot since first light while others are using drones, jet-skis and kayaks in the search for the missing woman. Other volunteers have been arriving at the search site with warm food and drinks.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
This is all about blame, the government wants the ability to point to a quango and blame it on the future hikes in energy and fuel prices, but we all know it them pushing the failed green ajenda and making ordinary people poorer.
@087 bed: Yep Germany closed down their nuclear and coal electricity plants, and bought into the renewables like wind and solar, but when they turned off their cheap russian gas, it exposed the whole scam!
@Dave Callaghan: What scam? Nuclear and renewables were never claimed to be able to fully replace gas. It is much cheaper and cleaner to use gas generation than coal. Without renewables and nuclear, the impact of the Russian gas reduction would’ve been much greater
@087 bed: The ‘quango’ is entirely in your imagination.
@Brendan O’Brien: Brendan. The quango is enabled by the EU, who won’t change how the price of electricity is decided.
Under the rules they dreamed up, the price is decided by whichever is the most expensive at a given time.
Say wind is cheap at the moment and gas is the dearest. The gas price is what is charged for all the electricity.
@Donal Ronan: How come we pay the most for electricity in the E.U. so?
@Brian D’Arcy: Brian. It would be worth your while reading Mario Draghi’s report and what he says about decoupling electricity prices.
The electricity company bosses nearly had heart attacks.
Electricity prices are decided by the dearest at a given time, which is usually gas. Even though gas doesn’t generate as much electricity anymore.
We are stuck with the same EU rules. Hence high prices, which for everything in Ireland is higher.
The wind guys must be laughing.
I love when they say energy security and independence.
Note to new justice minister– we need a huge detention centre built pronto to hold all the illegal immigrants until they can be sent back to wherever they came from. And FFS start enforcing our immigration laws !!!
”Eighty-five percent of people who applied for international protection at Dublin Airport in 2023 arrived without a correct identity document. In total, 4,712 people arrived at Dublin Airport and claimed asylum in 2023; 4,007 had either no or false identity documents” …breaking news.ie 12 August 2024
Were all these unvetted illegals locked up?… No
Less woke politics and more law and order please!!
”State spent €2.5m per day in 2024 to house International Protectction applicants” -breakingnews.ie 2024.
”airlines fined €2.5m in last two years for flying in passengers without travel documents” Irish examiner 2024
That’s an example of open borders woke politics. Rodders and Helen have an awful lot to answer for. I hope Rodders gets no speaking time in the next Dail the git
@Finn Barr: we need an effective robust immigration system. One where is based on those vulnerable and in need of protection. Additionally the numbers who are coming via Belfast and not through an official port of entry into Ireland and rocking up to the justice office to apply for protection with no identification. The department of education and all the “third level” colleges need to be brought to the table, the number of people who are claiming aslyum while also attending a third level college paying third level fees but applying for aslyum and getting free accommodation!
At least we’ve no more Tweeting Roderic, inviting the dregs of the 3rd world here and it looks like the days of Helen McEntee handing out Irish citizenships like confetti are over, thank phuk.
Michael Healy Rae for the climate job (just to piss off the Greens)
@Dave Callaghan: i think Danny for that portfolio would piss the greens off even more.We might even get the gas storage plant at Ballylongford.
Please let Healy ray be in charge of energy. Pleeeeeease
Not a good time to piśś off our most important trading partner by needlessly involving ourselves in the Gaza/Israel conflict.
Perhaps our new buddies in South Africa can advise on energy policy.
Like us, they cannot run their own country properly, or even keep the lights on, but see fit to interfere in the internal conflict in Israel.
@Thomas Sheridan: South Africa’s energy policy is about 3 hours electricity per day. Then during the blackouts they rob all the copper off the power lines. The natives really made a lovely job of that country since they got it back!!!
This is the South African parliament
@Finn Barr: .https://youtu.be/zP7bsMkIXqo?si=ek8aG9C5XupUE5LG
@Thomas Sheridan: I presume you are talking about the US. The US isn’t our most important trading partner. That’s Europe, and if Israel is brought to book, what harm. I’m equally annoyed with Hamas, etc, but far too many innocents have died during this war and it needs to stop. We have the Israeli Government pulling their Embassy, we’ve had our soldiers( peacekeepers) shot at and harassed by the IDF.
It’s time to end this.
@Thomas Sheridan: So it’s needlessly to speak out about a war where tens of thousands of innocent people are being killed?. So why don’t we stop needlessly getting involved in Ukraine/Russia conflict and the rest of the world conflicts?. Best to stay out of all them and not be selective wouldn’t you say.
@Paul O’Mahoney: Europe isn’t a country, and America is our biggest export market according to the OTB article in today’s Irish Independent.
It also raises the question that I have. Why set ourselves apart from our EU partners in this regard. And for what benefit.
Ireland could have played a more constructive role in the conflict by acting as an independent honest broker rather than a bully to Israel and throwing our lot in with Hamas terrorists.
It simply isn’t our fight.
Its showboating on the international stage and Celtic Tiger type hubris, at a time when we cannot provide housing for our own population.
I note that Ireland is funding new water pipe infrastructure there. Presumably to replace the ones that were dug up to make missiles to be fired at Israeli civilians.
@Finn Barr: it must make the Dunnes Store boycotted really proud
@Enoch Kochwomble: Why should I be told to move to a basket case country for simply expressing a legitimate view that is the same as one of our MEPs today.
Presumably, you would have no problem with the dregs from SA illegally coming here.
Your comment is symptomatic of the Loony Left intolerance to diverse opinions.
FFG may yet rue that they won the election, lots of nasty stuff coming down the track!
@Brian Hunt: Like what? I’m not saying there’s only sunshine and lollipops awaiting us but I would like get read what people think.
As long as McEntee is out that’s fine.
The one glaring issue is getting the likes of Fisheries, Forests and Wildlife into one Dept, like in North America, the very first move being to amalgamate IFI and NPWS and probably EPA as well. At present they are being deliberately held toothless.
Also it will virtually need a new Dept. to oversee getting rid of that asine “no Nuclear” leglislation and planning for achieving our Climate oblgations before we end up paying vast sums to the French on one hand and loosing a large whack of Big Tech and their Data on the other.
I would like to think that Mr.Martin and Mr.Harris have discussed the next US Ambassador?
Make Kilgarvan Great Again
Big task to repair Ireland Energy infrastructure after years of mismanagement by Chief Muppet Ryan.
have your say