Update: 60 search for Barry Davis Ryan, missing after father and girlfriend's deaths
Garda divers have joined the search for a 21-year-old man who has been missing since a drowning tragedy which has claimed the lives of his father and girlfriend.
Upwards of 60 rescuers are now involved in the search for missing man Barry Davis Ryan, 21, after he was swept out to sea off the west Cork coast.
It has been confirmed that one of the deceased is Barry Ryan, the son of Primark and Penneys founder Arthur Ryan.
The other person killed in the tragedy was named locally as Niamh O'Connor, who was in her 20s and from Glanmire in Co Cork.
Divers taking part in the search for 21-year-old Barry Davis Ryan off Baltimore Harbour have been focusing their efforts on an area known as the Eastern Hole. They have included members of the Navy and local volunteers
Weather conditions in the area have deteriorated in the last few hours, as the search continues with rotating crews.
Ten boats, each with a crew of about four rescuers, have taken part in the search to the east of Baltimore Harbour so far, with a further 20 people combing the shoreline.
Many of the divers involved in today’s operation have had little rest after several hours of intensive searching since yesterday evening.
The Coast Guard’s SouthWest sector manager Tim O’Keefe said rescuers were resolute.
"Morale is still high - they want to search as much as they can today before the weather deteriorates on Friday," he said.
"Sea conditions are good for searching on the shoreline and on the water."
Searches are expected to intensify further in the coming hours, with a Coast Guard helicopter from Waterford also deployed.
The coastguard has sent a helicopter to help in the search for a man missing in Cork after his father and girlfriend drowned yesterday.
Barry Davis Ryan, who is in his early 20s, went into the water at Baltimore Harbour just before 6pm.
He was reportedly trying to help his girlfriend Niamh O'Connor, who was also in her 20s and from Glanmire, after she was swept into the sea by a wave.
Coast Guard helicopter hovers over the sea area near the Beacon in Baltimore as the search goes on @irishexaminer pic.twitter.com/dyVkDnlX21
— Noel Baker (@noelbaker1) July 1, 2015
Barry Davis' father Barry Ryan, who was in his 50s and understood to be from Dublin, is thought to have entered the water after his son.
Mr Ryan's teenage daughter Charlotte, who had been walking with the others, raised the alarm.
RNLI spokesman Kieran Cotter said they were on the scene rapidly and recovered the first two victims.
"From the pager time to arriving on scene was approximately 10 minutes," he said. "We recovered both casualties simultaneously...and straight away we started CPR, but unfortunately were not successful."
It is understood the Barry and Barry Davis are the son and grandson of Arthur Ryan, the founder of Penney's/Primark.
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Many of the crews who have been searching for Barry Davis Ryan know the family well. More have joined the search as conditions improved through the morning.
Local Fianna Fáil Councillor Joe Carroll said: "Everybody knows each other (here), and would know the David family and Barry."
