Victims of Malin capsizing have strong Achill connections

TRAGIC MISSION The R118 helicopter, which airlifted Mr Weir to Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry, where he later died.


The two deceased were regular visitors to the island, where they had close family ties

Anton McNulty

The two people who died in a boating accident off the coast of Malin Head in Co Donegal both have strong Achill connections and were regular visitors to the area.
The two men were named as sixteen-year-old Thomas Weir from Dalkeith, Midlothian, in Scotland and Gerry Doherty who was originally from Malin and living in nearby Burt on the Inishowen Peninsula. Both of Thomas Weir’s parents, Paschal and Eleanor, are natives of Achill and he had been in Co Donegal for the last number of days visiting his aunt, Marian (nee Gielty), who is married to the second deceased man, Mr Doherty.
The Weir family are regular visitors to Achill and the news of the tragedy has shocked the local island community where they were well-known.
A third man who was also on board the vessel was discharged from hospital on this morning (Wednesday). He is originally from Co Monaghan but lived in Derry.
It has been reported that the three men had set off on the fishing trip on their fishing vessel at around 9am yesterday morning (Tuesday) and got into difficulty at around 12 noon. The RNLI has said that they were in the water for more than three hours before the alarm was raised.
Joe Joyce, the PRO of the Lough Swilly RNLI Lifeboat, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland: “The nature of that difficulty – we’re not sure of what happened – but it resulted in their boat becoming swamped with water and it subsequently capsized, and the three on board ended up in the water.
“They were in the water for a considerable amount of time, about three-and-a-half to four hours before the alarm was raised.”
Mr Joyce said that people who lived in holiday homes above the pier heard shouts coming from the water.
The R118 helicopter airlifted Thomas Weir to Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry where he later died. The body of Mr Doherty was later discovered along the shore by a member of the public, and he was later pronounced dead.