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A man who died while swimming off the coast of Co Galway has been named as renowned singer-songwriter Johnny Duhan.
Tributes have been paid to Mr Duhan, 74, who had written songs recorded by artists such as Christy Moore, The Dubliners and Mary Black.
A search will resume on Wednesday for a woman who has also been reported missing in the area.
Gardai said they received a report on Tuesday that a man failed to return to shore after a swim at Silver Strand.
At about 1.40pm, the body of a man was recovered from the water close to Silver Strand by RNLI and taken to Galway University Hospital.
The man was later named as Mr Duhan, best known as the writer of The Voyage, which was made famous by Christy Moore.
He had also recorded a number of albums as singer himself.
A death notice for Mr Duhan said he died while taking his daily swim in Galway Bay.
The notice said he is survived by his wife Maureen and their five children.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Sinn Fein senator Paul Gavan said it was “very sad news”.
He added: “I saw him play live in the 1980s a number of times in Limerick. A great writer and performer and a warm and thoughtful man.”
Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said on X: “I’m really sorry to hear of the death of Johnny Duhan. One of our finest songwriters and creative writers.”
While gardai were at the scene where Mr Duhan died, they became aware that a woman had entered the water and failed to return from a swim.
The search involving the coast guard, the RNLI and local volunteers will resume on Wednesday.
