Requiem mass for Cork teen who suffered fatal fall to take place on Sunday
Darragh Byrne of Ballysally in Charleville, Co Cork, was visiting the area with his parents on Tuesday afternoon when he fell from a height at Pedlar's Lake close to Daingean Uí Chúis. He was an only child.
Advertisement
The student of CBS Charleville is survived by his parents James and Siobhan, his grandfather George Fehilly, grandmother Marie Byrne, his four uncles, three aunts, grand aunts, extended family and friends.
Darragh will lie in repose at Hawe O'Keeffe Funeral Home, Bakers Road, Charleville on Saturday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. His requiem mass will take place at noon on Sunday with a cremation service following at Shannon Crematorium at 3pm.
The Byrne family would like to thank the doctors, paramedics, gardaí, Dingle and Killarney Mountain Rescue, Shannon Rescue 115 and all those who helped in so many ways.
Meanwhile, management at CBC Charleville yesterday said that Darragh was a bright and uplifting presence in their school community.
Advertisement
'A gentle, kind hearted and considerate young person who radiated warmth and positivity. Whether in the classroom, walking our corridors, or spending times with his friends, he left a meaningful and lasting impact. His generous nature, intelligence and talent inspired all who knew him.
Darragh will be missed deeply by his friends, his classmates, and all the staff here at CBS Charleville. His absence leaves a space that cannot be filled, and we will remember him with great affection and sorrow.'
It is understood the school opened yesterday to allow his classmates to gather and share memories of Darragh. A book of condolences was also opened onsite. Darragh was known for his love of rock climbing and the outdoors.
A file will be prepared for the Coroner and an inquest will take place at a later date.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Drug dealer (39) caught taking nearly €700k from safety deposit box jailed for 10 years
A 'serious drugs player' who was caught red-handed by gardaí removing close to €700,000 from his safety deposit box whilst on bail for firearms and money laundering offences has been jailed for 10 years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Gerard Hayes (39) was stopped by gardaí at Mespil Road in Dublin on February 20th, 2024, following a targeted operation by gardaí in Midleton and Cobh. Advertisement Mr Hayes of College Lawn, Cobh, Co Cork, told gardaí that the money in his boot was his 'life savings.' The father of three claimed that the cash originated from an inheritance and 'all cash jobs' he did on the side. Dt Sgt Eugene McCarthy said that the part time tree surgeon, who often did not work for months at a time, claimed that there was €620,000 in the boot of car. However, when the cash was counted it totalled €672,000. At the time of his arrest Mr Hayes was paying just €200.00 a month in rent for a council property. Det Sgt McCarthy said that the way the money was vacuum wrapped and marked bore 'all the hallmarks of drug dealing.' When gardaí subsequently carried out a search of the home of Mr Hayes in Cobh they found €10,050 in cash in the hot press. Advertisement Meanwhile, Garda James McCarthy gave evidence that Hayes had been previously arrested as part of a major operation on February 10th, 2024, at Ballydaniel in Ballymore, Cobh, Co Cork. On that occasion he was found to be in possession of €62,800 in cash. Gardaí approached Mr Hayes as he was leaving a shed he was renting in Cobh. Mr Hayes had installed a sophisticated state of the art alarm system at the shed which he was able to monitor remotely. During a search of the shed gardaí found monies concealed in timber blocks under tarpaulin in the shed. A search of his home in Cobh was carried out following this arrest. Gardaí discovered 234 rounds of ammunition, a rifle silencer, pepper spray, 1,376 rifle primers and eight containers of gunpowder. The majority of the items were found in the attic. A house boat worth €86,000, which was funded by criminality was subsequently discovered and seized at the the East Ferry in Cobh. Advertisement Det Garda McCarthy said that the accused had his firearms licence revoked in 2022. At the time of his arrest he was appealing this decision. Mr Hayes was arrested for a third time on May 5th, 2024, in Cobh when he was on High Court bail. Garda Dylan Murphy said that a modified deodorant canister was found in the car of the accused. The canister contained a small amount of cash and cocaine worth €1,407 Meanwhile, garda enquiries via Revenue revealed that Mr Hayes earned €245,892 over a 20 year period from 2002 to 2024 for his legitimate work in various trades. Advertisement Defence counsel Jane Hyland, SC, said that her client was remorseful for his behaviour. 'He is very stressed and upset at the position he has put his family in. He is resolved to not ever again engage in criminality.' Ms Hyland said that Mr Hayes was taken in to care at a young age. She stated that he had a good job history which included work as a diving instructor and a period in the Royal Marines. Ireland Girl left with 'profound cosmetic issue' after six... Read More The value of cash, cars, a boat and other property which was deemed to be the proceeds of criminal conduct reached a total of €745,000. Judge Helen Boyle made a forfeiture order to the state in relation to these items. Advertisement Judge Boyle commended gardai in Cobh and Midleton 'on a very successful garda operation' which led to the jailing of jailing of a 'serious player in the sale, supply and distribution of drugs in east Cork.' She noted the serious impact incarceration would have on the Hayes family before jailing him for 12 years suspending the last two years of the sentence. Mr Hayes pleaded guilty to over twenty charges including the possession of cocaine for sale or supply and possession of large quantities of ammunition and silencers for firearms. He also pleaded guilty to charges related to drug dealing and money-laundering.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Truth about dad who jumped off Disney cruise to save daughter as police shut down viral rumor
A vicious rumor about how a young girl fell overboard from a Disney cruise ship before her hero dad dived in to save her has been debunked by police. The five-year-old fell from the fourth deck of the $900 million Disney Dream about 11.30am on Sunday as it was sailing to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas. Hundreds of passengers watched as the pair were dramatically rescued by the ship's crew after the brave dad kept his daughter afloat for 20 minutes. But the father switched from hero to villain online amid claims he lifted his daughter on top of a 42.5-inch (3.5ft) railing for a photo, and she fell backwards off the ship. The Broward County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating what happened, finally refuted the rumor on Wednesday afternoon. Sheriff Gregory Tony said the girl was sitting on the railing and fell backwards through a porthole, but that her father didn't put her there. 'After the girl's mother alerted her husband, who didn't see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter,' he said. 'BSO detectives said after the 37-year-old father found his daughter, he treaded water until they were rescued by a tender that was launched from the ship.' Sheriff Tony said the ship's security video corroborated statements from the family and Disney cruise staff about what happened. The father was hurt as he fought to save his daughter and was hospitalized after the ship returned to port, but police declined to specify the injury. 'The crew's "man overboard" training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue,' Sheriff Tony said. 'BSO investigators said the total time from the child's accidental fall to the rescue was about 20 minutes. Once rescued, the father and daughter were checked out by the ship's medical staff.' Sheriff Tony said the family did not live in Florida. He explained that detectives were still gathering details, but his office released what they knew so far 'in response to misinformation'. 'This family is so blessed. It's great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome,' he said. The father was initially hailed as a hero for saving his daughter from almost certain death on her own in the ocean, without regard for his own life. But the tide turned when rumors that he caused her to fall began to spread, and he was pilloried online by thousands of strangers who repeated the wild accusations as if they were fact. Some even called for him to be thrown in jail, charged with child endangerment, have his daughter taken away from him, and his wife divorce him. This was despite no one who saw the girl fall publicly saying what happened, and no evidence he did anything wrong. Even before police exonerated him, some passengers shared alternate explanations they heard from far more credible sources. Monica Shannon, who was on holiday with her husband and young child, said a crew member told her a different story. 'She said the parents were playing shuffleboard and the girl was climbing on the railings... and as she went to climb up again she flew off,' she told the Daily Mail. Shannon said the crew told her the area was often very windy, and a sudden gust could have caused the child to topple over the edge. Deck four includes a jogging track and is lined with railings that extend 42.5 inches (3.5ft) from the floor with plexiglass in front of them. Indoor sections have open portholes that could easily be climbed out of but not fallen through. Shannon, from South Florida, said she was in her room on a lower deck directly below the shuffleboard area and 'saw something go by really fast'. 'I didn't think anything of it, I definitely didn't think it was a person or a body that just fell off the ship,' she said. Minutes later her husband told her what happened and she rushed on to the deck. Another anonymous passenger who claimed to be near the family when the girl fell also insisted the railing photo story wasn't true. 'I was there. This is not what happened. I heard the screaming and went to help. The little girl was not sitting on the railing,' they wrote on Facebook. 'I was there with them. We were first to help when we heard the initial fall/scream.' Several passengers said the girl's mother was hysterical after watching her daughter and husband go over the side. 'The mom was yelling "she's five and can't swim",' passenger Shannon Lindholm said. Monica Shannon added: 'The crew said the mom was brought inside away from the edge and that she was hysterical the entire time.' Within seconds of the girl falling, the ship's automatic man overboard alarm and the emergency code 'Mr MOB' blared over the intercom. 'It was my first cruise ever and it was pretty traumatizing trying to wrap my head around it,' passenger Nikki Samsill Jackson told the Daily Mail. 'When it first happened, everyone was saying that somebody jumped in and at that point we didn't know he jumped in to save his child, everyone was thinking suicide or too much alcohol.' Within minutes the crew readied a yellow motorized rescue boat and went after the stricken pair as hundreds of passengers rushed to the railings. Flotation rings were thrown into the water, but they were either too far away, or the father couldn't grab them without risking letting go of his daughter. Passengers described the massive 130,000 gross tonnage ship, which travels at 25mph, turning around as the rescue boat raced to find them before they drowned. 'When they were rescued, dad had his arms around his child and he was treading water,' Jackson said. Another passenger, Gar Frantz described the moment rescuers hauled them on to the boat. 'Everybody was cheering because you could see them lift them into the boat and they had the baby in their arms,' he said. The dad, clearly exhausted and distraught, gave the crowd a thumbs up as the boat approached the ship, then wiped his face with his hand. His daughter was sitting on the ship's doctor's knee as she was checked out, appearing healthy despite her ordeal. The physician has been praised online for stroking the girl's hair to keep her calm. 'When they were safely recovered, the captain made an announcement to say what happened,' one passenger wrote online. 'His voice was wavering and cracking, you could tell this shook him to the core.' Disney Cruise Line later praised its crew for their actions. 'The crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water. We commend our crew members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes. 'We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.' The Disney Dream was built in 2010 and last refurbished in 2024, according to Cruise Mapper.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (42) jailed for carrying knife on Luas and ranting about terrorists
A homeless charity worker, who began ranting at passengers about terrorists after armed gardaí intercepted him carrying a knife on Dublin's Luas, has been jailed. Anthony Brophy (42), who has spent most of his adult life homeless and featured in an RTÉ documentary about his life on the streets, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a knife, breach of the peace, failing to give gardaí his name and criminal damage to a Garda station cell which he soiled with his own bodily fluids and filth on April 9th, 2024. Advertisement He was handed a six-month prison sentence and banned from using the Luas for two years by Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court on Thursday. In evidence, Garda Anna Toland said that the incident unfolded at around 9.50pm after gardaí were alerted about a man on the Luas red line, travelling inbound. She followed the tram, driving her patrol car along the tracks until Heuston station, and saw him on the tram before it continued to the Museum stop. A Garda armed support unit was notified and waiting. Advertisement When Garda Toland got there, the knife was on the ground, and Brophy, of Maxwell Street, Dublin 8, had been disarmed using soft arm techniques. However, he was verbally abusive, refusing to provide his name and 'shouting at people about terrorists' and saying 'what were they doing on the Luas and looking at him'. The court heard that he was taken to Kevin Street Garda station and charged as 'unknown' because he would not disclose his name, which he withheld until he appeared in court the following day. Judge Hughes noted that when Brophy was kept overnight, he urinated, spat and defecated in a holding cell. Advertisement The court heard he had 25 prior convictions, including one incident where he was caught carrying three knives on a date in 2017. However, he had never received a prison sentence. Judge Hughes inquired about the circumstances of how the knife was detected. Garda Toland said the ASU officers informed her Brophy had it in the buckle of his belt or down his trousers when they met him. State Solicitor Rory Staines confirmed a member of the public reported a knife being brandished, but with no witness or evidence to support it, Brophy was charged only with possession. Advertisement It was not in open view when the ASU arrived. Paul Larkin Coyle BL, defending, told the court his client is going to be a father to his first child later this year. Mr Larkin Coyle informed the judge that Brophy now worked as a security guard but was also training for a job in construction, and wants to provide stability for his child and contribute to society. Counsel described Brophy's experience of being homeless for 25 years as desolate, but detailed his involvement with charities to publicly assist in providing accommodation to others, and a pro-social lifestyle now. Advertisement Stressing positive developments, Mr Larkin Coyle said his client featured in an RTÉ documentary on the homeless crisis, which helped him to get accommodation. The barrister said Brophy was employed as a fisherman at the time and, coming home from work, still had the knife, and it should never have happened. Ireland Man (24) stood behind woman on crowded Luas and so... Read More However, the judge, having been shown the blade, did not accept that as a reason. 'It is not a situation where he had just walked off the beach with a fishing rod and a knife, he was travelling on the Luas with a knife in his hand,' he remarked. Brophy stood silently throughout the hearing. Judge Hughes noted all the factors, including the previous offending, and cited the Minister for Justice that there should be an expectation of a possible prison sentence for knife crime. He had set a headline sentence of nine months but suspended the final three while ordering Brophy to attend anger management counselling and remain on supervised probation for two years.
