A body has been recovered from a river in Co Clare during a search for a missing man. The remains are believed to be those of a man who was seen entering the River Fergus in Ennis over a fortnight ago.

The discovery was made at around 1.30pm soon after Clare Civil Defence personnel recommenced their daily search for the missing man. The body was found in the water about a kilometre downstream from where the man was last seen.

The alarm was initially raised late on the evening of November 10 when a man was observed entering the water in Ennis. A significant multi-agency search and rescue operation was quickly mounted however when there was no sign of the man by 2.30am, emergency services for stood down for the night.

That operation involved Gardaí; units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station; the National Ambulance Service; Clare Civil Defence; Doolin Coast Guard unit and the Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115.

Civil Defence members have undertaken daily search operations since the man was first reported to have entered the water. Volunteers searched in difficult conditions when the river was high and fast flowing following recent rains in the county.

Divers from the Garda Water Unit based in Athlone and Santry (Dublin) also took part in the searches while divers from a number of sub aqua clubs, all affiliated to Diving Ireland – Southwest Region, joined the search over two weekends.

Soon after Civil Defence personnel resumed their search this afternoon, they spotted the man’s body in the water. Gardaí were advised and made their way to the scene while a local undertaker was also requested to attend.

The body was taken from the water and recovered to a local slipway where he was formally pronounced dead by a local doctor. The man’s body has been removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out later.