THE first funeral for two men who died during an Ironman competition in Co Cork will take place on Thursday.
Brendan Wall (44) was originally from Cardrath in Slane, Co Meath, and had become engaged to his fiancée Tina earlier this year.
Living in the West Midlands area of England, he had started working as a sales director at the Top Tubes company in May.
His funeral mass will take place on Thursday at 1pm in the Church of St Brigid, Grangegeeth in Slane, with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.
Ivan Chittenden (64) from Toronto in Canada also died during the swimming section off Youghal Beach on Sunday.
Enjoying his retirement years by competing in triathlons, his remains have also been released to his family following a post-mortem.
Investigations are under way after two men died while taking part in an Ironman event in Youghal, Co Cork. Organisers had earlier advised participants of a change to the distance due to conditions at the start of the race | https://t.co/dV8SBS5Nqx pic.twitter.com/X5JO8R7c2H
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 20, 2023
Married with a family, he had served as a senior partner in Ernst and Young before stepping down two years ago.
He previously spoke of becoming an endurance athlete and learning to swim in his early 50s.
His passion for the sport led him to complete five Ironman races as well as marathons around the world.
Mr Wall’s managing director, April Pearson Myatt, said his sudden death had been met with a “heavy heart” by his colleagues.
"It is devastating news…Brendan was a key member of the team and will be sadly missed both at a personal and professional level.
"Thinking of Brendan's family at this very sad time."
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'Absolute carnage': Cork Ironman competitor slams conditions during event in which two men died
Two men die competing in Ironman competition in Cork
Questions still remain about the decision to push ahead with Sunday’s event, with footage circulating of the turbulent conditions facing competitors at sea.
One competitor contacted the Irish News anonymously and said the conditions at sea had been "absolute carnage," and that he had been knocked unconscious after another competitor was rolled on top of him by a wave.
Ireland’s national governing body for triathlon, Triathlon Ireland, said that officials at the race confirmed with the organisers they could not sanction the race due to adverse conditions.
Triathlon Ireland CEO Darren Coombes expressed his sympathies to the families, but said he could not make any further comment as an investigation was ongoing.
In a further statement, Ironman Ireland said that weather conditions had been carefully monitored over the weekend, with the race moved from Saturday to Sunday because of Storm Betty.
On Sunday morning, they said Ironman Ireland officials and the on-swim safety team carried out all safety checks and concluded conditions were safe for the race to take place.
“Due to the prevailing weather conditions, a decision was made, however, to shorten the distance of the swim as a further precaution to ensure that the significant water safety assets – such as kayaks, lifeguards and medical boats – could be concentrated over a smaller area while also allowing swimmers the ability to swim with the help of a more favourable current and incoming tide after the first 100m.”
