Body of man missing in Ballybunion found after extensive search

Donal Kennedy (33) went missing on Saturday after a night out with friends in Kerry

Donal Kennedy's friends raised the alarm on Sunday morning when he did not return from a night out.
Donal Kennedy's friends raised the alarm on Sunday morning when he did not return from a night out.

The body of man who went missing on Saturday night has been found in the Kerry seaside town of Ballybunion.

Donal Kennedy (33), a father of one from Caherdavin, Limerick city, was last seen alive on CCTV passing by McMunn’s pub on his way back to the apartment where he and his friends were staying.

He went to the town on Saturday with five friends to attend the races and go for drinks afterwards. He bought a bag of chips at a take away just after 11pm that night and called a friend in the apartment at 11.08pm.

His friends raised the alarm on Sunday morning when he did not return. An extensive search was carried out using Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue, the Rescue 115 helicopter, drones, sniffer dogs and local volunteers.

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His body was found on Wednesday around 3.30pm at the mouth of the river Cashen near the sea around 1.5 kilometres from Ballybunion.

A postmortem examination is being carried out to determine the cause of death. Mr Kennedy suffered from epilepsy.

He is survived by his partner Rachael and his 11-month-old daughter Hollie.

His employer SL Controls issued a statement saying that their hearts were “completely broken”.

“We cherish the memories we all made with Donal over the past seven years in SL Controls and we will hold these memories in our hearts forever more. May Donal rest in peace,” the company said.

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times