Shock in north Mayo compounded after helicopter crash

CRASH
The red marker signifies the Rhinog mountains, the area of Snowdonia National Park in North Wales where the helicopter was found earlier yesterday.
Pic via Google Maps

Edwin McGreal

The sense of grief in north Mayo has heightened after it has emerged that three Burke brothers and two of their wives were killed in a helicopter accident in north Wales on Wednesday.
The Mayo News yesterday reported on the sense of shock in the Lacken and Ballycastle regions as news emerged that Kevin Burke and four members of his family had been involved in the accident.
There was speculation in the north Mayo area yesterday that Kevin’s two brothers, Donald and Barry, were also on board, together with Kevin’s wife Ruth and Donald’s wife Sharon. Those fears have been realised today, sending the area along the north Mayo coast into complete shock.
Kevin’s late father Dónal is a native of Kilcummin in the parish of Lacken and Kevin’s uncle Michael Bourke lives locally in Heathfield, Ballycastle. Michael is a former Chairperson of the Ballycastle/Belderrig Development Company.
Another uncle, the late FionΡn Bourke, was formerly the principal of Crossmolina NS. The Burkes would have a lot of relations in the region.
The helicopter had left Luton for Dublin to attend a family celebration when, it is believed, they got into difficulty due to bad weather in north Wales and crashed into Rhinog Mountain in Snowdonia.
The three brothers are mourned by their mother Noeleen, who is in her 80s and a native of Kimmage, Dublin.
Kevin and Ruth Burke have two children, a daughter and a son. Donald and Sharon Bourke are survived by a son and twin daughters. Barry Bourke is survived by his partner and one son.
A relative told the Irish Independent that Kevin Burke, whose construction firm Staske Ltd owned the helicopter, was an experienced pilot.
“We were all a very close family. We’re absolutely devastated. Kevin was a very experienced pilot. He never took chances. He was an excellent pilot and he had a lot of flight hours and he never took risks.
“They messaged me yesterday morning and they only decided to come when they checked the weather. The weather was supposedly OK, but it doesn't look like it was OK.
“We were all looking forward to seeing them. We’re all devastated. They were lovely people and they were very family orientated. We were all very close.”
The relative also said the Burkes were regular visitors to Mayo.
“Kevin was generous and loving. They were all generous and loving people. They always came back to Ireland and to Mayo. The Burkes all have places in Mayo and the family would all congregate in Mayo every year. They are such a close family,” she said.
Dónal Bourke died three years ago. He had a holiday home in Kilcummin - a village best known as the landing spot for General Humbert for the French invasion of Mayo in 1798 - and his sons were frequent visitors.
Another relation of the Burkes is the former Green Party senator Déirdre de Búrca who is a cousin of Kevin, Donald and Barry Burke.
It is believed the helicopter was attempting to descend to avoid bad weather when the tragedy struck. After the helicopter failed to land in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon, a major search along the Welsh coast commenced.
North Wales Police used mobile phone triangulation data to focus their search effort on a remote mountainous area between Rhinog and Trawsfynydd where the helicopter and five bodies were found.
However the recovery effort ‘may take some time’, Superintendent Gareth Evans, of North Wales Police, said.
He added that police and mountain rescue teams are ‘utterly determined and focused in recovering all those lost as quickly and as sensitively as possible so they can be reunited with their families’.