At a special gathering in Athlone on Saturday (21 February), a Co Armagh family joined local RNLI volunteers gathered to remember three members of the Portadown Angling Club involved in a fishing tragedy on Lough Ree 12 years ago.
On 20 March 2014, Lough Ree RNLI was called to an incident near Yew Point on Lough Ree after a 16ft boat carrying three members of the Northern Ireland angling club capsized.
John Trimble was rescued by Lough Ree RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew and was the only survivor of the accident. David Warnock was also rescued by the lifeboat crew but died later in hospital.
A 16-day search continued for the third member of the party, Daryl Burke, who was recovered from the water on 5 April 2014.
Survivor John Trimble died recently after a short illness, on 20 January. It was his wish that, in lieu of flowers, mourners at his funeral would make a donation to Lough Ree RNLI.
At the small informal gathering at the lifeboat station on Saturday, his widow Ann presented the charity with a cheque for €1,840.
Every year since the tragedy in 2014, John and Ann — from Market Hill in Co Armagh — had returned to Lough Ree to remember their lost friends, lay flowers at the memorial at Coosan Point and meet with volunteers at Lough Ree RNLI.
Accepting the donation, Dave McCourt, Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat operations manager welcomed Ann and her sons John, William and Colin to the station.
Former volunteer crew member Robbie West, who was lifeboat helm on the day of the tragedy said: “The friendship of the crew with the Trimble family has been a long and enduring one and RNLI volunteers always keep John, David and Daryl in their thoughts.”
