The body of missing fisherman William ‘Willie’ Whelan, (41), from Saltmills, Fethard-on-Sea, has been located in 50-metres of water off the Wexford coast near Hook Head.

His body was found at 11.30 am today by Hook Sub Aqua divers inside his boat. Divers from the Naval Service and the Garda Water Unit will attempt to get into the trawler as part of the next stage of the recovery process.

Mr Whelan went missing when his trawler, the Alize, an 11.7-metre steel-hulled vessel, sank off Hook Head on Saturday, January 4^th at around 10.45 pm.

A second fisherman, who died in hospital after being rescued, Joe Sinnott, (65), from Seaview, Kilmore Quay, was laid to rest last week.

The two men were close friends as well as work colleagues and had been returning from a 36-hour fishing trip when the boat went missing.

A recovery operation has been in progress for 18 days and today’s discovery brings some closure to the deceased’s family and friends.