Hopes of finding the 36-year-old sailor who was reported missing from the LE Roisin on Sunday morning appear to be fading, as another day of intensive sea and shore searches ended in Cork yesterday.
Petty Officer Cook T.J. Doyle from Tullow, Co Carlow, was last seen on board the naval vessel shortly after 7.30 a.m. on Sunday. The disappearance of the married father of two was not noted until the vessel dropped anchor at Ballycotton, east Cork at 8.45 a.m.
Mr Doyle had been living in Cobh, Co Cork. He has a 10-year-old daughter and a son aged eight. He was a recipient of a UN Peacekeepers' Medal for his service in the Lebanon, having served with the 63rd Infantry in 1988.
His wife Claire's family own the Quarry Cock bar in Cobh. Locals described Petty Officer Doyle as "a quiet but friendly sort of man".