‘I turned around and Andrew was gone’ – wife tells of devastation
Man (30) drowns in honeymoon tragedy in the Maldives
THE heartbroken wife of a man who died while snorkelling on their honeymoon has told his family how she turned around and he had vanished under the water.
Andrew Roddy, from Killester, Dublin, died on Tuesday while swimming with his new wife Gill Campion in tropical paradise the Maldives. He had just turned 30 last week and the couple were married just two weeks ago.
His mother, Marion Roddy, said she was desperate to know why her beloved son, who was a strong swimmer, was taken away from her so suddenly.
Andrew, who worked at New Ireland Assurance in Dublin, was Mrs Roddy’s only child.
Speaking to the Irish Independent from her home, she said she couldn’t come to terms with his sudden death. She got the terrible news on Wednesday morning when her son’s wife rang her.
“I was taking to Gill. She said they were out swimming and looking at dolphins or something. ‘I turned around and Andrew was gone,’ she said, and she didn’t know how it happened because they were near each other at the time,” Mrs Roddy said.
“I really don’t know what happened, and I want to know. Andrew was very fit and he was a strong swimmer. I don’t know if he had a heart attack or something, but he has no history of any heart trouble.
“Maybe he was stung by a jellyfish or something. I will have to wait for the post-mortem to find out.”
Mrs Roddy spoke about how her son was always very active.
“Andrew has been very involved with sports all his life. All through school. He got all sorts of medals playing for the schools and the local clubs.
“Anything to do with sport, he loved, but it’s all over now,” the devastated mother said through her tears.
“He only turned 30 last week. It’s an awful tragedy. They couldn’t wait to get back from the honeymoon to tell me all about it. They were so excited.
“They were due back on Monday and he said it was the best holiday he ever had.”
She added: “I never had a day’s trouble with Andrew. They say God only takes the best.
“They had a deposit put by for a house and were looking forward to their new lives together. He was a big, tall lad. He was a big softie and he was loved by everyone.”
She said Andrew previously had a health scare when his appendix burst while he was in college.
“The doctor said he was lucky they operated in time. It was a scare at the time but he was fit and came through it,” she added.
Andrew and Gill met while working for the New Ireland Assurance group.
“They were great together,” Mrs Roddy said.
“I hear his colleagues are all in shock and some of them had to go home they were so upset when they heard the news.”
Her thoughts were also with her son’s wife, who has been left heartbroken in the Maldives.
“Gill’s father flew out and was due to arrive to her today. She’s on her own over there and she hadn’t seen Andrew since he was taken from the sea,” she said.
“She was so far away with nobody with her, it’s terrible.”
Assistance
Andrew went to St Paul’s College, in Raheny, and then went on to study business in DCU.
He worked for 10 years in the credit union business, and then got a job as a retention specialist with New Ireland Assurance.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance to the deceased man’s family in Ireland.
There is no Irish embassy in the Maldives.
However, officials at the Irish embassy in New Delhi, in India, have been liaising with the authorities in the Maldivian capital of Malé following Mr Roddy’s death.