Father Daniel McDyer, parish priest of Burtonport, spoke last night of the shock mixed with bewilderment felt in the tiny Co.Donegal fishing village at the second trawler tragedy within two years–the $100,000 plus trust fund for the wives and 15 children of the victims of the Evelyn Marie disaster in January, 1975, has not even been finalized yet.

Father McDyer said–and this was repeated by many parishioners–that there was complete bewilderment at being hit by two similar type tragedies in less than two years.
The parish priest pointed out that were was also bewilderment at the similarity of the tragedies–the fact that the 65ft. Carraig Una and the Evelyn Marie floundered at the same point on rocks adjoining 23-acre Rathlin O’Beirne Island.

The people of Burtonport (population 400), which is sheltered on the seaward side by the great Aran Island, had given up hope last night that any of the five crewmen would be found alive. They huddled in small groups on the pier, as some of the 40 boats which took part in the search, with the two Army helicopters and the Arranmore lifeboat, returned from the fishing grounds.

But the Burtonport fishermen did not have to be asked if any of the men had been found alive–their weather-beaten faces told the grim story.

Joe McGinty, skipper of the 56ft. Ard Macha, which was one of the last to tie up at the tiny pier, said it was a complete mystery how the Carraig Una had foundered in exactly the same type of conditions and within 30 feet of where the Evelyn Marie went down.

The same disbelief at how “lightning could strike twice in one place” was expressed by everyone asked for their opinion.

The article above is from the Irish Independent on November 24, 1976. Joe Begley kindly forwarded a PDF of the full page. This can be seen here: Irish Independent front page November 24, 1976