AN INCREDIBLE army of more than 1,000 volunteers who spent a week in the blistering cold to search for a missing Limerick man have shown themselves to be a beacon of how a community can come together in crisis.
Seasoned senior Gardaí and emergency rescue co-ordinators stood in awe of the groundswell of determined volunteers who refused to give up until they found 73-year-old John Michael McSweeney, who disappeared from his home at Knocknaclugga in Athea, County Limerick, on Saturday January 6.
On one day alone, more than 300 people were out walking the forests and bogs, searching hedgerows and ditches to try to bring closure to John Michael’s worried family. The search ended when his body was recovered on Sunday last, one week later.
‘They never let their spirits down’
Inspector Gearoid (Gary) Thompson, one of the local Gardaí involved in the search, told the Limerick Post he had “never seen anything like it in all my years on the force”.
“I want to sincerely thank everyone who was involved. It was very rough terrain, hilly and boggy, and not for the faint hearted.
“But from 9am until 5.30pm every day, hundreds came out and walked and searched and they never let their spirits down. I believe that’s why he was found.”
Inspector Thompson said the weather “was freezing but it never rained, not until moments after they found him when a drizzle started”.
“If it had rained, it would have been an impossible task. He was a man who had faith, the rain stayed off until he was found.”
Search dog handlers came from all over and joined the Civil Defence, dozens of Gardaí, and the hundreds-strong streams of volunteers from sports clubs, local organisations, and every corner of the county and beyond.
“People who are natives of the area came back from Cork, from Kerry, from everywhere to join in,” Inspector Thompson said.
They came on quad bikes, on foot, and even flew drones in co-ordination with the search and rescue helicopters.
So thorough was the search that one volunteer who lost a phone on the first day had it hastily recovered in a subsequent search.
The McSweeney family were joined by dozens of concerned and caring volunteers making sandwiches, teas, and soup throughout the search. Volunteers were even fed hot food from a burger van, while local people donated money in shops to pay for it all.
‘The biggest numbers I’ve ever seen’
Abbeyfeale District Search And Rescue co-ordinator Christy Kelliher said his team were “stunned” by the outpouring of support and the numbers of volunteers who came out.
“It was by far the biggest number I’ve ever seen on a search,” he told the Limerick Post. The search and rescue veteran had great words of praise for the Garda effort, particularly for Inspector Thompson who, he said, “was outstanding. He stayed for every bit of it and he had the grid maps all organised for the teams. Everyone made enormous efforts.”
“We’re just so glad he was found. There have been other disappearances here and the people have never been found. It’s good that the family at least have closure.”
The man who aroused such concern and caring, John Michael McSweeney, was described as a gentle and kind soul who loved his own routine and went walking three times a day in the forestry he loved.
He was found by a member of his family, as part of a search team, around two kilometres from his home at a place accessible only by meandering paths through dense woodlands and bog.
His gentle wanderings finished, John Michael was laid to rest yesterday (Wednesday) in Calvary Cemetery, after Mass at St Mary’s Church in Carrigkerry.
‘A quiet man’
His brother and sister, Martin McSweeney and Margaret Leahy, thanked the “hundreds of footsoldiers” who turned out to help the family, including the search and rescue teams and Gardaí.
“Our family will be forever grateful for the help and support we have received,” Martin told the congregation crowded into the Carrigkerry church.
“Our father always advised us never to argue among ourselves, to walk away from trouble, and never bring the guards around the place. John ignored that last bit of advice.”
Referring to the huge operation minted to find her brother, Margaret said that “for a quiet man who never drew any attention to himself, John certainly changed all that in the last week”.
John Michael was pre-deceased by his parents William and Mary Anne. He is deeply regretted by brothers Paddy, Liam, and Martin, sisters Margaret and Mary (Ahern), brother-in-law Timmy, sisters-in-law Noreen, Eileen, and Bridget, nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.
