Tragedy continues as body found in search for Barry Davis Ryan

After a ten-day search, a body has been recovered by sea divers which is believed to be that of Cork student Barry Davis Ryan.

Barry drowned on June 30th when he entered the water in Baltimore, West Cork, to try and save his girlfriend Niamh O'Connor after she was swept into the sea while walking. Both Ms. O'Connor and Barry's father, Barry Ryan Snr, died in the tragedy.

The bodies of Mr. Ryan Snr and Ms. O' Connor were recovered later that same day and their funerals were held last weekend.

The extensive search over the last week and a half was carried out by 70 experienced divers and 52 other support officials, all of whom volunteered their time to try and recover Barry's body.

Barry was the grandson of Penney's founder Arthur Ryan, who last weekend paid tribute to his son Mr. Ryan Snr at his funeral in Baltimore, calling him a "true hero" for sacrificing his life to try to save others. 

Speaking on RTE News last week, Barry's mother Ann Davis said she was still struggling to come to terms with what had happened. "The loss is huge. I’ve lost two of the loved ones," she said.

"Barry, the dad was a very spiritual, very intelligent man, and my son was a lovely boy. Very intelligent as well. When I heard that two were gone and Barry was missing. What can you say. I still can’t believe it. It’s hard to come to terms with it."

Our thoughts are with all the families involved at this time.