A community last night acknowledged the bravery of a man who gave his life in an effort to save a family and their friend trapped in a sea cave at Belderrig, on the Mayo coast, at the weekend.
Tributes were paid to Mr Michael Heffernan (38), training officer with the Grainne Uaile Diving Club, based in Ballina. Large crowds attended the removal of his remains to St Muredach's Cathedral. He will be buried in League Cemetery after Mass this morning.
Mr Heffernan's wife, AnneMarie, is expecting their second child. They already have a daughter, Leigh-Anne.
Mr Will Ernest von Below, aged 53, a retired businessman who drowned in the accident and was known in Belderrig as Mart Martensen, will be cremated in Dublin and his ashes brought to Germany. He was prominently involved in community projects in his adopted north Mayo home.
It was Mr von Below's second and fatal attempt to explore the cave at Horse Island. Locals said he turned back with a German colleague a week earlier when his friend realised the peril involved.
Last Saturday, he entered the cave in his currach with Mr Tony Murphy, his wife, Carmel, and their 13-year-old daughter, Emer. The Murphys were rescued and are in Sligo General Hospital.