A priest was among a crew of people who tried to save a Polish man from drowning earlier this week. Killaloe Diocesan priest Fr Micheal Collins is a member of the Kilrush RNLI lifeboat crew that tried to save Andrea Marek (29).
Mr Marek drowned off the coast of Loop Head earlier this week.
The man's body was recovered from the sea within minutes of divers searching the area where his body was last seen.
Andrea Marke, who had been living in Nenagh in County Tipperary, was reported missing after he fell into the sea from rocks near the Bridges of Ross a popular fishing area on the northern shore of the Loop Head peninsula.
The man had been fishing with friends at the time.
The man's pals had attempted to rescue him by throwing a lifebuoy into the water.
However, the drowning man had been washed too far from the shore to be able to reach him.
The crew of the RNLI lifeboat from Kilrush was able to respond within seconds after they were alerted in the middle of a 'blessing of the boats' ceremony that they had been attending.
Fr Micheal Collins, who is a member of the Kilrush lifeboat crew, had to abruptly abandon the annual event after the member’s pagers rang out during the blessing.
A massive search and rescue operation was launched by the Kilrush lifeboat crew including Kilrush curate Fr Collins but it was later called off in the evening and changed to a recovery effort.
SIC: CIN