Latest news with #CountyClare
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Message in a bottle found in Ireland prompts theories about Taiwanese crew
A message in a bottle found off the west coast of Ireland has revived hopes for answers about the fate of a Taiwanese fishing crew that disappeared four years ago. Internet sleuths have linked the note, a purported SOS message written in a mixture of Chinese, Indonesian and English, to the Yong Yu Sing No 18, a Taiwanese fishing vessel that was found adrift with its crew missing in 2021. Matthew Long said that he and a friend were walking on a beach on Inisheer, a small island located about 8km (5 miles) off County Clare, last week when they came across a wax-sealed bottle containing the handwritten note. 'We used Google Translate and the first half of the message translated to an SOS message in Indonesian,' Long told Al Jazeera. Long said he handed the note over to the local police before posting about his discovery on the social media site Reddit, where internet sleuths quickly got to work trying to track down its origin. 'We posted it in a few places online, but when we posted it in r/beachcombing, it blew up and clever Redditors were able to trace it back to a real missing ship crew,' Long said. According to the Reddit posting, the text reads: 'Please send help! We are lost since 12/20. There are 3 of us here. We don't know the name of this island. We are injured. HELP. HELLO. SOS.' The note ends with the Chinese character for 'Li' and the name 'Yong Yu Sing No 18.' An Garda Síochána, the Irish police service, said it does not comment on third-party content online but confirmed it had received a 'report of an item found' on Inisheer last Saturday. It declined to provide further information. The Yong Yu Sing No 18 was reported missing on January 1, 2021, after its owner lost contact with the ship's captain, a man surnamed Li, two days earlier, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. The fishing vessel was later found approximately 600km (373 miles) from Midway Atoll, an unincorporated United States territory in the North Pacific Ocean, with its crew and lifeboat missing. The incident was later ruled an accident by Taiwanese prosecutors, but the fate of Li and his nine Indonesian crew members remains unknown to this day. The Taiwan Yilan District Prosecutors Office, which investigated the case in 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Long's Reddit post has received nearly 10,000 upvotes, or 'likes', and 1,200 comments from users, many of them offering theories about the crew's fate and debating whether it is more likely that the note is genuine or a hoax. In Taiwan, the note has been taken seriously by advocates for the families of the missing crew, including the Su'Ao Fisherman's Association. 'This association relays the hope that the government will verify the situation through appropriate channels, and if confirmed to be true, is willing for the government to cooperate with international organisations to coordinate rescue efforts,' the association said in a statement to local media. The Su'Ao Fisherman's Association did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Internet users on Taiwan's PTT message board have also debated the authenticity of the note. Some have compared it with an incident in 1992 in which a container of 28,000 plastic ducks and bath toys fell off a cargo ship during a storm. In the decades since the incident, the ducks have washed up around the world, including as far away as Scotland. Long said he is uncertain about whether the note is genuine, but believes it is possible. 'I don't know about the note's authenticity or if it was really sent by the crew of that ship,' he said. 'I was very sceptical at first and believed it to be a hoax when I first opened and read the message, but since then, it is starting to look more plausible to me.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Maguiresbridge: Murder victims will be buried together in County Clare
Vanessa Whyte and her two children, who were murdered in County Fermanagh, will be buried together in her home town in County Clare. The 45-year-old and her children, 14-year-old James Rutledge and 13-year-old Sara Rutledge, were shot and killed in their home in Maguiresbridge on Monday night the man suspected of killing them, Ian Rutledge (43) died in hospital. Last week police said a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for detectives. Prayer service held in County Clare for mother and childrenSchool to remember murdered brother and sister 'for years to come'Childminder said she loved murdered children 'like they were her own'Shooting victim was 'devoted mum to Sara and James' Funeral arrangements for Ms Whyte and her children were announced on Monday night. In a post on social media the funeral directors said: "People attending the service of removal and funeral Mass are asked to please wear bright and cheerful colours in their memory."A service of removal will take place at St Mary's Church in Maguiresbridge at 11:00 BST on Wednesday 30 funeral Mass will be held in Vanessa Whyte's home town of Barefield, County Clare on Saturday 2 August."Following Mass, Vanessa, James and Sara will be laid to rest together in Templemaley Cemetery," they said. Emergency services were called to their home on the Drummeer Road on Wednesday morning. Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene and a third victim died later that day in after the attack, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told a news conference a man from the same household was in hospital with gunshot wounds. The PSNI's district commander said that no arrests had been made and at that stage it was not anticipated that any would be made. On Monday, detectives investigating the shooting reiterated their appeal for "anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward". On Saturday, they issued an appeal over the movements of a silver Mercedes between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler on the day before the shootings. Tributes to murder victims Sara and James were both students at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School and were former pupils of Maguiresbridge Primary School in their home of mourners attended a vigil for the family in the primary school's grounds on Friday. Several senior politicians were present as religious representatives addressed the vigil, and a minute's silence was held as a mark of respect for the victims. A prayer service also took place on Sunday evening at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Barefield, County the service, the parish priest, Fr Tom Fitzpatrick, told mourners:"Let us remember Vanessa not just by the way she died, but by the life she lived, her smile, her strength, her incredible powerful love for her children. "She gave it her all to the very end.""We remember James and Sara, not just as victims of violence, but as children who played and who laughed and had their favourite stories, of course favourite foods I'm sure as well, and great dreams," he added."Dreams that will never be fulfilled, but dreams that mattered because they were theirs."If you are affected by any of the issues in this article, details of organisations that can offer help and support are available on the BBC Action Line.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Maguiresbridge: Prayer service to be held in County Clare for mother and children
A prayer service will be held on Sunday in County Clare, for a mother and two children killed in a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide in County Fermanagh. Vanessa Whyte, 45, her 13-year-old daughter Sara Rutledge and her 14-year-old son James Rutledge died after they were shot at their Maguiresbridge home on Whyte was originally from Barefield, County prayer service will take place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the village at 19:00 BST. The shooting happened in a rural area about 75 miles (121km) west of Belfast and about eight miles from the county's largest town, of the victims were declared dead at the scene on Wednesday morning and a third died later in hospital.A man - who is a member of the same household - is being treated for serious gunshot injuries at the Royal Victoria Hospital in said no arrests had been made and it was not anticipated that any would be added that the investigation was at an early stage, but a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for Saturday, police issued an appeal in relation to the movements of a silver Mercedes between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler on the day before the shootings. 'Hard-working colleague and devoted mum' Ms Whyte was an experienced veterinary surgeon, at the time of her death she was employed by Stormont's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).But before taking that role, the mother-of-two spent about eight years working at Lakeland Vets in Derrygonnelly, County "enthusiastic, hard-working colleague" and a "devoted mum" to Sara and James. Both children attended Enniskillen Royal Grammar School and were members of local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) teams and Enniskillen Cricket Club.A book of condolences opened on Friday morning at Maguiresbridge Primary School, where James and Sara previously attended.A vigil was held in the primary school grounds on Friday evening. Enniskillen Royal Grammar also opened its doors on Friday for staff and pupils to meet and write in a book of memories about James and Elizabeth Armstrong said the school had been left "stunned and shocked at the loss of two wonderful young people"."They were just full of life, they were both such lively and intelligent, funny young people," she said. 'Long association' with club In a social media post, St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield GAA Club said they were "shocked" and "saddened" to hear of the tragic passing of Vanessa and her two said the Whyte family had a "long association" with the club and Ms Whyte herself had been a "very accomplished camogie player".
Bloomberg
20-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ireland Shuts Last Coal Plant as Europe's Phaseout Accelerates
Ireland became the latest European country to put an end to coal-fired power generation, with Spain and Italy set to follow soon. The last coal plant in the country has officially closed in County Clare, after more than 40 years in operation, state utility ESB said in a statement. Also this year, Italy will shut two major stations, and Spain's remaining ones will be decommissioned or transformed into gas plants, according to nonprofit Beyond Fossil Fuels.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- BBC News
Cliffs of Moher: Inquest told boy slipped in puddle and fell to his death
A 12-year-old boy fell to his death at Ireland's Cliffs of Moher after slipping in a puddle close to the edge, an inquest has Zhao was with his mother and her friends at the beauty spot on the County Clare coast on 23 July last year when he walked ahead of the group.A French tourist who witnessed him fall told Clare Coroner's Court she saw him slip and try to pull himself up by grasping at grass, before he disappeared over the edge. The coroner embraced Zhihan's distraught mother after recording a verdict of accidental death. Zhihan and his mother, Xianhong Huang, both Chinese nationals, had arrived in Ireland 12 days before his fatal fall. In her deposition, Ms Huang said that Zhihan was walking ahead of her on the Cliffs of Moher trail and she lost sight of him."My son walked very fast and was ahead of us by 50 metres," she said."As there was only one path, I thought we would meet him along the way. "When I didn't, I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre."Unable to find him at the visitor centre, she returned to the path to search for him and when there was no sign of him, she reported him Huang said she last saw Zhihan at 13:00 that day and the court heard she provided gardaí (Irish police) with a photo of him she had taken earlier on the through an interpreter at the inquest in Kilrush, County Clare, Ms Huang, wiping away tears, asked: "What exactly caused Zhihan to fall from the cliffs?"Clare County Coroner Isobel O'Dea told the grieving mother that the evidence of an eyewitness would help answer that question. French tourist, Marion Tourgon, told the inquest she witnessed Zhihan falling over the edge at about 13:45 that Tourgon explained she was at the edge of the cliffs with her husband and two children and they were taking a selfie at the time. She describing seeing a young Asian boy, who was alone, come into view."I saw him slipping in the puddle that appears in the photo that my husband sent to the police," the witness said. "His right foot slipped into the puddle, with him trying to stop himself from falling with his left foot but his left foot ended up in the air."Ms Tourgon added: "It was very quick - he found himself in an awkward position with his left foot in a void over the cliff and his right knee on the edge of the cliff."She continued: "His right knee eventually fell into the void over the cliff and he was trying to grasp the grass with his hands to pull himself up. "He didn't shout and there was no noise."The Tourgon family then phoned the emergency air, land and sea search operation began involving the Irish Coast Guard, gardaí, and Irish civil defence volunteers who used boats, drones, divers and a helicopter. Five day search for missing boy A police witness, Garda Colm Collins, told the inquest he received a call at 14:00 that day after a male was seen falling off the edge of the Cliffs of Moher. He said that the Irish Coast Guard had spotted a body floating in the water at the base of the cliffs. The court heard a lifeboat was launched but it was was not able to access the site where the body was spotted due to the sea was another five days before Zhihan's body was eventually recovered from the boy was found by a fisherman, Matthew O'Halloran, from Corofin, County spotted a body facedown and arms extended in the water between Doolin and the Aran Islands shortly after 10:00 local time on 28 July 2024. Mr O'Halloran alerted the Irish Coast Guard and its members retrieved Zhihan's body and brought it ashore at coroner said post-mortem results had confirmed that Zhihan died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height."It is clear from evidence we heard that Zhihan slipped off the cliffs rather than any other way. His death would have been very quick - instantaneous."Addressing the boy's mother, she said: "I can't imagine how upsetting this is for you."Ms O'Dea also extended her sympathies to Zhihan's father who was not present at the embraced Ms Huang as she left the coroner's accident was the second fatal fall at the Cliffs of Moher within a three-month period last year. In May 2024, a student in her 20s lost her footing while walking with friends and fell to her death. Since August last year, large sections of the Cliffs of Moher trail have been closed due to safety the time, the Clare Local Development Company confirmed that it was taking the action following the two fatal accidents.
