Thirty years since the tragic sinking of the Boy Shaun

David McDaid with his baby daughter Eimear. David was just 27 when he and three men lost their lives. They were all aboard the Boy Shaun which went down off Malin Head on September 20 1987.

WEDNESDAY marked 30 years since one of the worst maritime tragedies in Irish history – the sinking of the Boy Shaun off north Donegal.

Four fishermen perished when the 34 ft trawler went down near Malin Head on September 20 in circumstances that to this day have never been fully explained.

Barney McDaid (56) from Bunn in Glengad died alongside his sons Charlie (20) and Patrick (33) and his nephew, David McDaid (27), when a gentle Sunday morning of lobster and crab fishing turned to disaster.

Only John McDaid (29), another of Barney’s sons, survived. He managed to cling to a piece of board in the sea for 40 minutes before being rescued by another vessel, the Carraig Eamonn.

An investigation into the events of the fateful morning of September 20 1987 was carried out but speaking to the Donegal News, David McDaid’s daughter Eimear revealed that her family have never been given sight of the final report.

Eimear was only six weeks old when the news came through that her dad had lost his life when the Boy Shaun sank.

“I am aware there was an investigation done at the time by the Department of the Marine but the findings were never made known to us,” said Eimear.

Rumours circulated at the time that a submarine may have played a part in the boat’s demise. So much so that Sinn Féin Cllr Eddie Fullerton asked Donegal County Council to write to the Minister for Foreign Affairs about the matter.

But three decades on and the mystery of what caused the Boy Shaun to sink remains.

Reflecting on how the tragedy has shaped her life, Eimear McDaid said that her late father was never far from her thoughts.

“I was six weeks old at the time of the tragedy so obviously I have no memory of the actual incident. But the tragedy was often spoken of and my father has always been a part of my life,” she said.

“I was always curious about his life and his death. I would have asked questions constantly and to be fair to my mother, she did her best to help me build a picture of what he was like and to understand what happened on that fateful day. Mum actually kept all the newspaper reports from the time in a scrapbook for me to read when I was old enough. That also gave me some sense of the enormity of it.

“There were occasions in school when it was difficult trying to explain that I didn’t have a dad to other kids as they didn’t understand. Simple things such as making Father’s Day cards were a nightmare for me. I used to just make them anyway and address them to mum. I remember when I was studying in Queens University in Belfast a comment was made about children from single parent families being at a disadvantage and they wouldn’t be able to follow the path I was on. The comment upset me at the time but stayed with me. I was in total disagreement with it.

“I have a very happy life – my family has made sure of that. I was always determined to do well and so I worked hard at school and mum worked hard to make sure I got the opportunities I needed and I feel I have made a success of my life. I don’t feel I would or could have done better had I had two parents. I like to think that my Dad would be proud of me.”

The day the Boy Shaun sank was All-Ireland Sunday and the crew had been looking forward to getting back to see Meath take on Cork. It was a match they never got to see and since then, every All Ireland Sunday has come around with an air of sadness for the McDaid family.

“We always talk about my father, perhaps not so much about the tragedy anymore, but we do remember them all and pray for them on special occasions like Christmas, Easter and anniversaries. Of course when September and the All Ireland final comes around I’m sure it brings a sadness to my mother and the rest of the family who remember that day. I don’t have the memories that they have but I do feel a pang of guilt each year for being able to watch it as dad never made it home for the match.

“Over the years I would have heard a lot of people say that they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news about the Boy Shaun. It amazes me to this day when I meet someone and they realise who I am. People often tell me that they remember it, even people who wouldn’t have known us at the time of the tragedy.”

Last year’s Buncrana pier disaster when five members of the one family drowned rekindled in many the terrible sinking of the Boy Shaun. Nowhere more than in the parish of Glengad.

“On the day of the awful tragedy in Buncrana people were stunned and shocked. A silence and a sadness hung in the air. That really gave me a sense of what the atmosphere must have been like on the day of the Boy Shaun tragedy,” Eimear said.

While she has never visited the site where the Boy Shaun went down, 30-year-old Eimear has visited the pier at Portleen where her dad loved to fish and where his name is listed on a memorial to all the fishermen from the area who have been lost to the sea.

She and her mum Sally have also become fervent supporters of the work of the RNLI, even fronting their ‘Mayday’ fundraising campaign in 2015.

Eimear McDaid (right) with her mum Sally and Portrush RNLI mechanic Anthony Chambers. The phot was taken when Eimear and Sally weighed in behind the RNLI’s national fundraising ‘Mayday’ campaign.

“I admire hugely the work the RNLI does in preserving life and rescuing lives from the sea. In 2016 there were 1,704 people rescued, including 37 lives saved. That’s phenomenal. They are a credit to society and deserve our support to provide the boats and equipment that they need to help keep them safe while they put their lives on the line to save others,” added Eimear.

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