Man (33) who drowned in Cork river to be laid to rest on Monday
Olivia Kelleher
A 33-year-old man who drowned in the River Lee in Cork earlier this week will be laid to rest on Monday.
Luke Hyde of Wolfe Tone Street in Cork got into difficulty while swimming near St Mary's Church by Pope's Quay last Wednesday at around 6:45pm.
His body was later recovered from the water, and a postmortem examination was completed at Cork University Hospital.
His mother Lily Hyde contacted the Neil Prendeville show,on Cork’s RedFM, in the aftermath of the tragedy to express her disgust at a decision by some onlookers to record the drowning of her son rather than do anything to help him.
Ms Hyde heard the helicopter overhead as it went up and down the river last Wednesday.
She rang her son’s phone to make sure he was okay only for a garda to answer it.
She rushed to the scene and was shocked to see what onlookers were doing by the quay walls.
“It was like a circus, watching my son drown, instead of trying to help him. When I got down, they were putting him into the ambulance and I saw the crowds, I didn’t know what was going on.
"I said I need to hold my boy, I need to see him. I don’t know what his last thought or words were. I was thinking, ‘Did he call my name?’”
"What have people in the world come to? Morons. I don’t even think there is a word to describe them. It will never leave me. I don’t know how I’ll ever forget it. I never will. It will live with me for ever more.”
Ms Hyde has lost two sons in tragic circumstances. Her son Brian died in his sleep in 2019.
Her youngest son Luke would have turned 34 next month. He had started a new job last weekend at a branch of Tesco in Douglas in Cork.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked about what had occurred whilst he was at an event in Cork last Friday.
He offered his sympathy to the family of the deceased whilst expressing his revulsion at the behaviour of a number of the onlookers.
“It is a very sad and regrettable feature of modern life. It was a horrendous what happened, and my understanding is two fellows went in for a swim, both got into difficulty, and one was able to get out and raise the alarm.
"I read what the fire officer said. That they found it very difficult to comprehend that were no lifebuoys thrown in to help but people were taking photographs or videos. For family members it is very traumatic and it is very, very sad.”
Meanwhile, Luke, was predeceased by his brother Brian and his father Michael. He is survived by his son Leon, his mother Lily, siblings Michael, Mark and Lucia, extended family and a large circle of friends.
A requiem mass for Luke will take place at 10am on Monday in the North Cathedral in Cork city with burial following at St Catherine’s cemetery in Kilcully.
