Ireland

Family of film-maker Ross McDonnell confirm death of Dubliner in New York drowning

Howth native had been living and working in New York in recent years

Friends say a pair of red Adidas swimming trunks on the body matched a pair owned by Mr McDonnell.

Michael Fitzpatrick
Wed Nov 22 2023 - 19:06

The family of award-winning photographer and filmmaker Ross McDonnell has confirmed the death of the Dubliner, days after his remains were discovered on a beach in New York.

Mr McDonnell’s remains were found on Breezy Point Beach in Queens, New York last Friday. The Howth native had lived and worked in the US for several years and went missing earlier this month.

The Emmy award-winning documentary maker is believed to have drowned after going swimming in the ocean at the Queens beach near where his remains were found.

His family announced his death in a notice on RIP.ie. He is survived by his parents Maureen and Nicky, his sister Louise and niece Eva.

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“He will be very sadly missed by his loving parents, sister, niece, aunt, uncles, cousins, extended family and his many dear friends, LJ, and also his colleagues in Ireland, USA and around the world,” said the notice.

Joseph Kenny, Chief of Detectives for the New York Police Department, had earlier said friends had identified a distinctive birthmark on the body discovered in Queens, matching one that Mr McDonnell had, while red Adidas swimming trunks were identical to a pair Mr McDonnell regularly wore when he went swimming.

The 44-year-old Emmy-winner was last seen leaving his home in Brooklyn over two weeks ago, with the alarm raised after he failed to show for a lunch date with a friend, then did not answer any calls or texts. When friends subsequently found his apartment empty, they conducted a search, eventually finding his bicycle chained to a railing at Fort Tilden Beach, three days after he’d last been seen.

Det Kenny went on to tell reporters that the Irishman enjoyed swimming outdoors, particularly on the beaches of Queens, and regularly biked over there from his home in Brooklyn. He was last seen, it is believed, leaving his apartment in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn at about 8:30pm on November 4th, according to the NYPD.

It is thought that he went swimming after 10pm, near Fort Tilden Beach, on November 4th, and, despite being a strong swimmer, got into difficulty in the waves.

According to reports in the New York media, his remains were found by a fisherman near the Silver Gull Beach Club, near Breezy Point, on the Rockaway peninsula on Friday last.

An acclaimed film-maker and documentarian, he won an Emmy in 2021 for his cinematography on The Trade, a series screened on Showtime.

He had previously been nominated for an Emmy in 2018 for directing the acclaimed documentary Elian.

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