Ireland

Man who drowned off Galway coast named as singer-songwriter Johnny Duhan

Duhan (74) one of two people who went missing at Silverstrand beach near Barna on Tuesday along with a woman in her 30s

Johnny Duhan wrote songs for artists such as The Dubliners, Christy Moore, Mary Black and Dolores Keane among others. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy
Johnny Duhan wrote songs for artists such as The Dubliners, Christy Moore, Mary Black and Dolores Keane among others. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy
John Fallon
Tue Nov 12 2024 - 21:01

A 74-year-old man who lost his life in a swimming accident in Galway on Tuesday morning has been named as renowned singer-songwriter Johnny Duhan.

The Limerick native, who has lived in Barna in Galway for many years, drowned after going for a swim at Silverstrand near his home.

The alarm was raised when he failed to return and as a search was being launched it emerged that a woman in her 30s was also missing after also swimming off the same beach.

Gardaí leading the investigation said they are treating the tragic events as two separate incidents and while both, like many in the area, were regular swimmers there, they do not believe they were known to each other.

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A search will resume at first light for the woman who is believed to be from nearby Spiddal. The search for her was launched when she did not turn up for work and her car was found in the car park at Silverstrand.

[ Johnny Duhan: Spiritual inspiration after a nasty review drove me to write one of my best songs ]

The incident has shocked the local community with neighbours and friends comforting both families and joining them at Silverstrand for the search.

Mr Duhan wrote songs for artists such as The Dubliners, Christy Moore, Mary Black and Dolores Keane among others. The song The Voyage is among his best known work and is also sung by Christy Moore.

He is survived by his wife Maureen and five children Ronan, Niamh, Kevin, Ailbhe and Brian, 10 grandchildren, four sisters and three brothers, along with a large cohort of music fans.

Supt Paudie O’Shea appealed for anyone who was in the Silverstrand area on Tuesday morning and noticed anything to contact them.

“We don’t fully understand the sequence of events which occurred here this morning, but it would be quite unusual. That is something we’re just trying to piece together,” said Supt O’Shea, speaking at Silverstrand as the search continued on Tuesday afternoon.

“At the moment, currently, we are treating them as two separate incidents. We’re dealing with two different families at one location.

“Both parties would be local to the area. We don’t believe they are known to each other. They would have both arrived here this morning, for they would have been both people who would frequent the sea for a daily swim.

“We’re just trying to piece together the sequence of events, and currently we don’t know the full sequence of events, and that is something we’re trying to establish. It is absolutely devastating for both families, and An Garda Síochána are working closely with both families. We are supporting them through this devastating time for both of them,” he added.

The area was covered in a dense fog throughout the morning, but the sea was calm.

Gardaí, Galway RNLI, the Coast Guard, Galway Sub Aqua and local volunteers, including fishing boats, had launched a search both in the water and along the shoreline in a bid to locate the two swimmers.

Visibility was very poor, which prevented the Coast Guard rescue helicopter from being tasked, but the body of the man was located after a few hours.