CAPTAIN DUFFY COMING HOME
FUNERAL MASS FOR CAPTAIN MARK DUFFY TAKES PLACE IN BLACKROCK ON THURSDAY MORNING
Captain Mark Duffy, who was one of four Coastguards who were lost in the crash of Rescue 116 helicopter off the Mayo coast, will return home to Blackrock tomorrow ahead of his funeral Mass on Thursday. St Oliver’s Church in the village will be the scene for the final farewell to the 51-year-old father-of-two at 11am on Thursday when hundreds of people are expected to pay their respects.
FROM the cold waters off Blackrock island, Co Mayo, the remains of Coast Guard hero Captain Mark Duffy come home to the village of Blackrock, on the shores of Dundalk Bay, where he had made his home with his wife Hermione and children Esmë and Fionn.
The agonising wait to bring closure for his family ended when divers recovered his body from the wreckage of the helicopter cockpit twelve days after the accident which also claimed the lives of his fellow Rescue 116 colleagues, co-pilot Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, and wince crew Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith.
The Irish Coast Guard Rescue 115 helicopter escorted the Naval Service ship LÉ Samuel Beckett as it carried Captain Duffy’s body from Blackrock Island, arriving at Blacksod pier on Sunday afternoon.
His coffin was brought ashore by Naval Service divers and draped in the tricolour before a lone piper from Achill Coast Guard led the cortege along the shore of Blacksod Bay, followed by members of the Irish Coast Guard, Naval Service, the Civil Defence and Commissioners of Irish Lights, who had been involved in the search for the previous twelve days. After leaving Blacksod, the cortege stopped at Eachléim, where volunteers at the community centre also formed a guard of honour to pay their respect.
A post mortem was carried out at Mayo General Hospital on Monday and Captain Duffy is reposing at his home, Sandy Lane, Blackrock, from 1pm until 7pm on Wednesday. The funeral Mass takes place on Thursday at 11am in St. Oliver Plunkett Church, Blackrock, followed by private cremation.
Books of condolences have been opened County Hall, Dundalk Town Hall and Ardee Library, to allow local people to add their tributes to those coming in from all over Ireland and indeed around the world.
The 51 year old is fondly remembered in his native town, where his mother Sheila Duffy ran the Benetton Shop in Clanbrassil Street for many years. Mark, who was one of three boys, was just a teenager when father Jimmy died. He attended the Marist College where vice principal Mr Gerry Lambe recalled him having ‘a great application to his work, always treated staff with the highest respect and was extremely popular with fellow students. It comes as no surprise that his career involved helping others as he was a great fund-raiser for charities whilst in the College.’
He spent a lot of his free time at Carlingford Sailing Club and became acquainted with the work of the Coast Guard service.
Mark went on to train as a helicopter pilot in the United States, where the air school where he trained paid tribute to him: ‘Mark Duffy did his Commercial Helicopter Pilot training with our flight school in 1998. Mark was a wonderful student and pilot. Mark took to flying helicopters quite naturally and was dedicated to learning and always with safety in mind. Not only did Mark demonstrate that he had ability and skill to fly a helicopter he was also a decent person.’
Mark spent time working with the California Coast Guard, based in San Francisco, before returning home, where he met his future wife and soul mate Herimone Flynn Rogers in the Rugby Club. The couple married and Mark worked as a commercial helicopter before landing his ‘dream job’ with the Irish Coast Guard, based in Dublin. They had two children and moved to Blackrock about seven years ago, where Mark became a highly valued member of the local community, as shown by the out pouring of grief and support since the Rescue 116 helicopter went missing on March 14.
The Search and Rescue community is a close knit one and the loss of Captain Duffy and his colleagues has reverberated around the world, with flags flying at half mast and messages of condolences coming from crews as far away as Australia and Canada.
Members of the local Coast Guard, who had got to know Mark as he flew rescue missions and took part in training exercises in the area, maintained a presence outside his home as the family awaited news that he was found.
The Black Box from the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter has been recovered and sent to England for examination in the hope that it will shed light on the cause of the tragedy which has robbed four families and the country of real heroes. Captain Duffy had been among members of the Rescue 116 crew who received an award for bravery last October and saved many lives during the course of his career, flying rescue missions and transferring critically ill patients to hospital.
He is survived by his heartbroken wife Herimone, children Esmë and Fionn, mother Sheila, brothers brothers Gavan and Donard, step-father Peter, sisters-in-law Annemarie and Sophie, his uncles, aunts, nephews and his many, many friends and colleagues.
His family have requested that donations be made to the RNLI instead of flowers. Poignantly they say ‘Mark’s wish would be for you to carry a donor card’, continuing his desire to help others.