This article is from page 14 of the 2013-08-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
FAMILY and friends gathered on Sunday to say goodbye to Seamus Higgins whose body was found in the Claureen area of Ennis last week.
The 22 year-old had been missing from the home of his foster family in Ennis since Saturday, August 10.
His funeral took place at Ennis Cathedral on Sunday. He was last seen jumping a wall after leaving the house at Dun Na hInse on the Lahinch Road. He was wearing jeans, new navy and white, laceless, Nike runners and a grey jumper. His body was discovered in the River Claureen at around 3.45pm on Thursday.
Gardaí had issued a renewed appeal for information on Seamus’ whereabouts. Gardaí had expressed concern for his wellbeing as Seamus left the house without his phone and wallet. Appeals for information were also issued through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook.
His foster mother Tina Whelan had also sought for a photo of Seamus to be shown at Croke Park during half time of Sunday’s All Ireland hurling semi-final between Clare and Limerick. Friends posted messages of sympathy on a special Facebook page. One poster wrote, “No words can bring solace to your feeling now. But Seamus is at peace and will be your guiding light forever.”
The discovery of Seamus brought to an end a major search opera- tion carried out around Ennis since last Saturday. Extensive searches of the River Fergus and woodlands areas around the town were carried out by members of Clare Civil Defence. Volunteers had just concluded a search of woods in Ballybeg prior to making the discovery in Claureen. Up to 12 and 14 volunteers took part in the search on a daily basis.
Head of Clare Civil Defence Liam Griffin paid tribute to all those who took park in the search. He said, “These people give freely of their time and take time off work to do it. We have some guys who are firemen, paramedics and advance paramedics. They are fantastic people. They do a wonderful job and I know it is appreciated.”