An Irish dad will be laid to rest this week after dying in a tragic drowning accident in Co Clare.
Fran Harding, who was in his early 40s, died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Lahinch beach on January 12.
It's the second tragedy to hit the family in less than two years after Mr Harding's 15-year-old son Shay Moloney died in a lake at a disused quarry in May 2018.
Mr Harding, an Ennis man, had been with his wife Sarah Jane who was on the shore and witnessed the tragedy.
It is understood the couple were expecting their first child together.
Mr Harding was winched from the sea by the crew of an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and brought onto the beach where efforts to resuscitate him quickly got underway.
He was airlifted from the scene to University Hospital Limerick in a critical condition and was pronounced dead a short time later.
A death notice on RIP.ie reads: "Deeply regretted by his heartbroken wife Sarah-Jane, parents Willie and Bridget, parents-in-law Michael and Teresa, brothers Alan, Declan, Brendan and Colm, sister Eileen, sisters-in-law Jan, Cathy, Connie, Fiona and Siobhain, brothers-in-law Michael, John, Darren, Tim and Keith, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and neighbours."
Mr Harding will lie in repose at St. Benedict's Church, Coolmeen in Co Clare, on Wednesday evening, January 15, from 5pm with prayers at at 7:30pm.
His funeral mass will take place on Thursday at 11am followed by burial in Drumcliffe Cemetery.
