Solace after so much pain

THE agony and heartbreak of the family and friends of Captain Mark Duffy and his fellow crew members of Rescue 116 has been unbearable over the last two weeks.

We can only imagine their pain and torment over the last couple of weeks and our heartfelt sympathy goes to them.

The weather has delayed the efforts of the rescue and naval services to recover their remains from the accident site off Blackrock Lighthouse, but thankfully conditions improved sufficiently over the weekend to allow the recovery of the body of Captain Mark Duffy from the cockpit of the helicopter.

The Blackrock man will come home to his family on Wednesday and his funeral will be held in Oliver Plunkett Church in the village on Thursday.

His return must be some small comfort to his family and the hope of all is that the two remaining crew members will also be found in the coming days and they too can be returned to their grieving families.

An extraordinary effort has been carried out by professional and voluntary organisations over the past two weeks since Rescue 116 first went missing.

The community in Mayo have by all accounts been superb in offering their assistance from fishermen, to coastguard volunteers, to shoreline search parties and people who have provided catering for all those working on the operation.

The aftermath of the tragedy and the response shows that Ireland is indeed a small country with a great community spirit.