THE BODY recovered from the sea near the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare on Sunday has been identified as that of a 25-year-old man reported missing in west Kerry over a fortnight ago. He is thought to have drifted over 100km from Co Kerry.
Colm Murphy, (also know as Colm Ó Murchú), from Tralee, Co Kerry was reported missing by his family on July 23rd last. His car was later found in a car park near Slea Head on the westerly tip of the Dingle Peninsula almost 70km from his home.
Gardaí located the vehicle during the early stages of a massive search which involved the Dingle unit of the Irish Coast Guard, the Valentia RNLI lifeboat and gardaí from Tralee who co-ordinated the operation.
The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter and an Air Corps spotter plane from Baldonnel were also involved in the search which at times was hampered by poor weather conditions.
Yesterday, gardaí confirmed that they had formally identified the body as that of Colm Murphy. Gardaí and the Coast Guard now believe that the body drifted with the currents for a distance of up to 100km to where it was discovered on Sunday off the Clare coast.
“The body has been formally identified as Colm Murphy from Tralee.” Ennistymon Supt Declan Mulcahy said: “A postmortem examination was carried out on Monday afternoon and we do not believe there is anything suspicious about this tragic death. Further tests were carried out and at about 11am yesterday, we were able to confirm the identity.”
Supt Mulcahy said that he also believes the body was carried with the currents from Co Kerry to where it was located on Sunday evening near the Cliffs of Moher.
Doolin Coast Guard spokesperson Mattie Shannon, whose team recovered the body, confirmed that the event although unusual, is not unprecedented.
“It would be very rare from our experience for a body to drift that distance, but we know it has happened in the past. Several years ago, another body did manage to travel from Kerry to Inis Oírr, but that it is the only other incident we are aware of,” he said.
“Given that the winds for the most part were favourable southerly and southeasterly, it is very possible that the body did drift that far,” Mr Shannon added.
The alarm was raised shortly after 6pm on Sunday when two French tourists reported seeing a body in the sea while they were walking along the Cliffs of Moher close to O’Brien’s Tower. Members of the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard recovered the body a short time later.