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Inishowen sea tragedy:
18.03.08
"They were brothers, neighbours,
friends"
DANNY and Francis McDaid enjoyed a laugh and a joke.
It was with good humour that the two brothers set
off on Friday for a morning of lobster fishing on
the 'Strath Marie' as a favour to Francis's son. It
was bright and sunny and the sea was glistening. The
men, aged 70 and 69, and with years of fishing
experience between them, were glad to be doing the
young ones a good turn.
But their happy day turned to tragedy in some
mysterious way. The family concedes they may never
find out exactly what happened the 'Strath Marie' or
why she floundered in relatively calm waters with
the loss of the two retired seamen close to the
mouth of Lough Foyle. What is left are two
heartbroken families and the memory of a pair of
jovial fishermen who loved the sea. |
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"They were great fun
and enjoyed the craic," said their younger sister
Eileen. "Francis was more devilish than Danny -
sometimes when you'd come over to visit he would
take the keys out of your car and hide them on you
for the laugh," she said, tearfully.
The McDaids are well-known in the Inishowen fishing
community. Danny was a father of six; Francis, a
father of four. They came from a large family and
are also survived by three brothers and five
sisters.
Their mother was the last baby to be taken off
Inistrahull Island to be baptised on the mainland.
Sister-in-law Mary, said there were great
similarities between the brothers including her
husband Hughie. "If you saw them all coming up the
road together, you could hardly tell them apart,"
she said.
The large family are steeling themselves today to
bury the two brothers with the help and support of
the close-knit Glengad community. Francis will be
buried in Aughaclay, Malin in the morning while
Danny will be buried in the afternoon in Lagg - only
because Aughaclay cemetery is full.
The McDaids only received their loved ones' remains
on Sunday evening after their bodies were returned
following post mortem in Belfast. Malin Parish
Priest Fr. Brian Brady said the brothers and their
families were very close. "They were very close in
life - they were brothers and neighbours and
friends. Sadly in death too, they are brothers,
neighbours and friends." Local Councillor Bernard
McGuinness said the entire community was "shocked
and saddened" by the deaths of the two well-known
fishermen.
Meanwhile, the families thanked everyone who helped
during the search. "We want to say a heartfelt
thanks to everyone who helped in any way in the
search for our fathers and particularly those who
went out to find them for us.
"We would also like to thank everyone at Altnagelvin
Hospital and the people of Glengad who have helped
us in so many ways," the families said in a
statement. On a bright Sunday morning in Strath, as
nephews and cousins prepared to go out to dig the
two men's graves, Francis's daughter Marie, after
whom the boat was named, clutched a photograph of
her father close to her heart. |
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