Relief after body of Ballinrobe angler recovered in lake

SAD ENDING  The body of SeΡn Maloney was discovered and retrieved from Lough Mask last Saturday, three weeks after he went missing.

Anton McNulty

‘A HUGE sense of relief’. That was how the discovery of the body of a missing angler from Lough Mask was described three weeks after he went missing.
The body of angler SeΡn Maloney, from Ballinrobe, was retrieved from Lough Mask by members of the GrΡinne Uaile Sub Aqua Club at approximately 11.30am on Saturday morning. The popular angler went missing on Friday, March 8 after after he failed to return from a fishing trip on Lough Mask, after setting off from Cushlough Pier.
Poor weather in the weeks following the start of the search resulted in divers and rescue teams having limited amount of time in getting into the water.
The body of the 78 year-old was discovered in three metres of water approximately 30 metres from where his boat was discovered washed on the shore the following morning. A local fisherman spotted the body and informed divers from the GrΡinne Uaile Sub Aqua Club who have been involved in the search from the beginning.
“It was a huge sense of relief when the body was found and it has brought some closure to the family,” a spokesperson for Inland Fisheries Ireland told The Mayo News.

‘Dark cloud’
“A dark cloud has hung over the lake since the search began and there has been absolutely no fishing at all on the lake. The only activity at Cushlough Pier has been to do with the search effort. The season should be in full swing but until the body was discovered there was to be no fishing. The local fisherman were out every single day and put in a huge effort to try to discover the body. It was all hands on deck and a great effort by everyone.”
Members of the Irish Coast Guard, the Lough Corrib/Mask Search and Rescue team, Inland Fisheries Ireland, An Garda SíochΡna, GrΡinne Uaile Sub Aqua Club as well as volunteers from all over Ireland have all been involved in the search over the last three weeks.
Following the discovery of Mr Maloney, his body was brought ashore before it was transferred to Mayo University Hospital for a post mortem.
A father of three, Mr Maloney lived in the UK before moving to Ballinrobe where he lived alone. He is survived by his daughters Karen, Geraldine and Glenna; brother, Enda (Longford) and sisters, Nan O’Grady (Ballinrobe), Kathleen Ryan (USA), Lil Brady, (Drogheda), Margaret Gannon (Longford), Philo Houlhan (England).
His remains will repose at Cummins Funeral Home, Ballinrobe on Wednesday evening from 5.30pm with removal at 7.30pm to St Mary’s Church, Ballinrobe. Mass on Thursday at 12 noon with the funeral proceeding to Shannon Crematorium.