The body of a man, reported missing from his home on Wednesday, has been recovered from the Shannon Estuary off Co Clare.
The discovery was made by two fishermen early in the morning on Friday while a search was ongoing for a 59-year-old man reported missing from Sixmilebridge in Clare.
John O’Gorman, a popular and well known local man, was last seen on Wednesday evening and a search was mounted after he failed to return home.
His family and others had posted messages on social media asking anyone who saw Mr O’Gorman to contact Gardai.
Search teams met again in Sixmilebridge at 7.30am yesterday and set out to see if they could find any trace of the missing man.
Members of Bunratty Search and Rescue also joined the search yesterday after being requested to by locals in Sixmilebridge.
While a search of the Ratty River and local areas was being conducted yesterday morning, two fisherman reported finding a body in the Shannon Estuary close to the Beeves Rock Lighthouse about 8 kilometres south west of Shannon Airport between counties Clare and Limerick.
It’s understood the two men were fishing out of Foynes in Co Limerick when they made the discovery.
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After alerting Gardai, members of Bunratty Search and Rescue made their way to the scene about 15 kilometres from their base.
On arrival, they found that the fishermen had managed to hook the body and hold onto it against the running tide until the rescue boat arrived.
The body was taken on board the rescue craft and recovered to the slipway at Bunratty where Gardai were waiting.
Afterwards, the body was removed by hearse to University Hospital Limerick for a post-mortem examination.
A family member later confirmed on Facebook that Mr O’Gorman’s body have been located and thanked everyone for all their help.
Mr O’Gorman had been involved with local soccer club Bridge United as a player and later as manager.
A cup final match between the club and Manus Celtic, due to be played on Friday night, has been postponed as a mark of respect for the late Mr O’Gorman.
