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The family of the hero who rescued two stand-up paddlers in dramatic circumstances in Galway Bay in August is in mourning after a fisherman (37) drowned Monday afternoon.
Tom Oliver lost his life while fishing off the Salthill coast with his father, Martin, at lunchtime.
Galway Mayor Cllr Mike Cubbard said the city was shocked by the death of the fisherman who had also participated in the search for the paddleboarders.
It is believed that the fisherman may have become entangled in one of the lines tied to his fishing pots and become submerged.
He and his father were fishing just offshore in an area between Blackrock and Silverstrand.
His father raised the alarm and the crew of the Galway RNLI lifeboat rushed to the scene and brought him ashore at the city docks. He was taken by ambulance to Galway University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The deceased man is a member of one of Galway’s oldest fishing families, many of which have served with volunteer lifeboat crews.
Saving two cousins
In August, his first cousin Patrick (38) and his son Morgan (18) were hailed for their role in saving two cousins who had gone to sea on two paddle boards and were feared to drown.
Patrick and Morgan Oliver. Photography: RTÉ
Sara Feeney (23) and Ellen Glynn (17) drifted for 15 hours overnight after being swept out to sea by a storm, but were rescued after the fisherman and his teenage son correctly calculated where they could be nearby. from the Aran Islands.
They used weather and tidal information where the paddleboard cousins might have drifted.
They found them clinging to a lobster pot buoy south of the Aran Islands, nearly 20 miles from where they had entered the sea at Furbo. The cousins disappeared while paddleboarding on the night of August 12 and were rescued after a large-scale search of the bay by the Olivers.
Ellen Glynn and Sarah Feeney on RTE’s Late Late Show after their ordeal.
Cllr Cubbard said news of Tom Oliver’s death had spread quickly Monday afternoon.
‘Devastating’
“It is devastating, words cannot describe how tragic it is. It was just a few weeks ago that we had a mayoral reception to not only celebrate Patrick and Morgan Oliver, but also to honor all the fishing families and all rescue services.
“Going from celebrating the rescue of the two paddleboarders to this tragedy in a couple of months is just terrible. Everyone rejoiced when the two girls were rescued, it gave everyone a boost and here we are now and the family at the center is mourning the loss of one of their own.
“In August, everyone shared the joy of that rescue and now they will share this pain with the Oliver family, the fishing community and the people of Claddagh and the city,” the mayor said.
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