This article is from page 3 of the 2008-02-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
A KAYAKING accident brought tragedy to a well-known Ennis fam- ily at the weekend when it claimed the life of a 45-year-old man.
The body of Tomas Mannion from Ennis was pulled from the water at Lough Derg on Saturday afternoon, some hours after a search for his body was launched.
Affectionately know as “Moses”, Tomas was a son of prominent Ennis travel agent, Tom Mannion.
He had been missing since Febru- ary 13, but the alarm was not raised until last Saturday when he was re- ported missing by his family.
A search immediately got under-
way. Mr Mannion’s body was taken from the water at Scariff Bay at lunchtime on Saturday, after some of his personal belongings were discov- ered. He had been kayaking and was wearing a lifejacket.
In his younger days, Mr Mannion was a keen sportsman and had won several titles in hurling and football in the underage ranks. |
He played on the Eire Og side in the All-Ireland Feile hurling final in 1975, while he won Harty and Croke Cup medals with St Flannan’s in 1979. He was also a keen athlete.
Tomas’ brother, Gearoid, yesterday paid tribute to all those involved in the search and recovery of the body.
“The gardai, all the branches of
the rescue services, the landowner – they did a great job and we are very thankful for the work that they did,” he said.
Paying tribute to his late brother, Gearoid said, “Tomas was a gentle soul and treated everyone that he met with respect.”
Describing Tomas as someone who liked adventure, Gearodid added, “There was a calmness about him and everyone that knows Tomas would appreciate what I am saying.”
Gardai in east Clare say the inci- dent was being treated as a “tragic accident”.