A group of four people were walking along the rocks near the Beacon yesterday evening, just outside Baltimore, when a freak wave swept three of them out to sea.
The three have been named as father Barry Ryan, aged in his 50s, his son Barry Davis Ryan, aged 21, and the young man’s girlfriend, Niamh O’Connor, 20.
The fourth person in the group, Mr. Ryan’s teenage daughter, managed to scramble to safety and raise the alarm.
The bodies of the two men were recovered from the sea a short time later and rushed to Cork University Hospital, but were sadly pronounced dead. Ms. O’connor remains missing.
Locals have described the event as a “heartbreaking tragedy.”