Man (55) who died in water at Castletownbere pier named locally

The man who died in Castletownbere, Co Cork has been named locally as Damien McGuinness of Church Road, Killybegs in Co. Donegal.

The 55-year-old was predeceased by his father Peter. He is survived by his mother Susan, siblings Claire and Seamus, his beloved nieces Lauryn and Lara, extended friends and neighbours.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

The incident occurred at about 5:30 pm on Saturday. The emergency services were contacted.

A postmortem examination will be carried out. An inquest will be held at a later date.

It is understood that the dead man worked as a crew member on a tug boat.

Castletownbere is currently hosting its popular nine-day Festival of the Seas, which attracts crowds to the area

The Castletownbere Festival of the Sea committee has extended its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Damien McGuinness.

In a statement, they said that their thoughts were also with his fellow crewmates and the wider maritime community both here in Castletownbere and in Killybegs and at this sad time.

“As a mark of respect, the Guinness World Record tug pull attempt scheduled for Bank Holiday Monday will not now take place.”

Deputy Mayor of the County, Cllr Finbarr Harrington, said that his thoughts and prayers were with the families of the deceased man.

“I just opened the festival last night. It is a great family festival so for something like this to happen is very sad.

"Castletownbere has seen its share of tragedies in the water and of course something like this brings it back to people who have been in this position.”