A MINUTE’S SILENCE FOR A ‘DEEPLY LOVED AND RESPECTED’ WINCHMAN

MISSING winchman Paul Ormsby is ‘deeply loved and respected’, said his friends and neighbours. Mr Ormsby grew up in the Dublin suburb of Ballyfermot and attended school in the area.

It is understood he served in the Irish Defence Forces before eventually joining the Irish Coast Guard.

Local Sinn Féin council representative Daithí Doolan said councillors held a minute’s silence for Mr Ormsby along with the three other crew members on board the R116 helicopter which crashed off the coast of Co. Mayo.

Friends and neighbours of Mr Ormsby shared fond memories of him on social media yesterday and hoped he would be found soon.

Mr Doolan described Mr Ormsby as a ‘hero’, saying it was a very difficult time for his Winchman: Paul Ormsby friends and family. The councillor said: ‘Paul is a brave Ballyfermot man who has been missing off the west coast since the early hours on Tuesday morning.

‘Paul spent most of his adult life in the services of others. He and his colleagues in the Irish Coast Guard were dispatched to the seas off Mayo in response to an emergency call. Unfortunately the helicopter they were travelling in crashed off north Mayo.

‘This close community in Ballyfermot has been in shock since the awful news of the crash came through.

‘But the response from friends and neighbours is testament to the respect Paul is held in Ballyfermot.

‘People have been sharing stories and memories with me of times spent with Paul. He is deeply loved, missed and respected.’

Mr Ormsby is an experienced helicopter winch operator with a long service record. He was part of a team that rescued 17 Spanish and Portuguese crew from a Spanish flagship off the west coast of Shannon in January 2000.