Family thankful as they get 'closure'
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THE family of Tralee man Neilus O'connor, who went missing last Friday morning, have expressed their relief after his remains were recovered following a marathon five-day search.
Neilus O'connor (38), who is originally from the Hawley Park area of Tralee, was reported missing by his partner after he failed to return home after setting out kayaking on Lough Yganavan in Cromane at around 3am on Friday morning.
Mr O'connor's kayak and paddle were recovered washed up on the eastern shore of the lake at around 11am on Friday and a huge search operation was immediately launched.
Members of the O'connor family rushed to the scene where they maintained a vigil until his remains were discovered on Tuesday afternoon.
A large number of Neilus O'connor's friends from Tralee took part in the marathon search effort with several bringing their own boats from Tralee to aid in the operation.
It's understood that two of Mr O'connor's Tralee friends identified the location where his body was ultimately discovered by a local search team.
Neilus O'connor and his partner Mellisa Clifford had only recently moved to Cromane, near Killorglin with their ten-week-old daughter Hannah.
The heartbroken O'connor family said they were devastated following their loss but were relieved that the search had at least brought some measure of closure.
"It's a relief. At the very least we have closure," said Michael 'Fox' O'connor, the uncle of Neilus O'connor.
"He was a young man who was full of life and who loved the outdoors. Everybody loved him. We can let him go up to heaven now and rest in piece," he said.
"We were hoping for an early conclusion to this. It has been very heard and very stressful. You see these things on TV but you never realise what it's like until it happens to you," said Michael O'connor.
The O'connor family also expressed deep and sincere thanks to the residents of Cromane and all those who helped out in the search.
"We have to thank the people here for their generosity. They've been so supportive for the last five days. They've brought us food, soup and blankets and everyone has gone out of their way to help us," said Michael O'connor.
"We can't thank the local community enough. Before last Thursday we'd never met any of them but now we know them all by name. They have been a wonderful support to us."
Neilus O'connor is survived by his partner Mellisa, daughter Hannah parents Freddie and Noreen, two sisters and three brothers. Details of his funeral are expected in the coming days.
- SIMON BROUDER sbrouder@kerryman.ie
