RTÉ News and TheJournal.ie report that a body was recovered yesterday, Saturday 6 March, in the search for a kayaker missing on the River Barrow in Athy since last weekend.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Declan Reid (34) and his eight-year-old son entered the water when their kayak capsized near Ardreigh Lock last Sunday afternoon (28 February).

While the boy was rescued by a passer-by, Reid disappeared — which prompted a multi-agency search operation throughout the week.

Emergency services resumed searching today (Tuesday 2 March) for a man who went missing after his kayak capsized on the River Barrow at the weekend.

According to RTÉ News, 34-year-old Declan Reid had been kayaking with his young son when the vessel overturned near Ardreigh Lock in Athy, Co Kildare on Sunday afternoon (28 February).

Independent.ie reports that Reid — who is set to be a father again in early summer — valiantly kept the eight-year-old boy afloat until he was rescued by a passer-by.

It’s also understood that Reid’s family live in the old lock-keeper’s cottage close to the scene.

Local Labour Party senator Mark Wall told TheJournal.ie: “Everyone in the town is very upset. Athy is and always has been a very close knit community … It has hit the town so hard.”