THE BODY OF a man, reported missing from his home on Wednesday, has been recovered from the Shannon Estuary off Co Clare.

The discovery was made by two fishermen early yesterday while a search was ongoing for a 59-year-old man reported missing from Sixmilebridge in Clare.

John O’Gorman, a popular and well known local man, was last seen on Wednesday evening and a search was mounted after he failed to return home.

Members of the volunteer Bunratty Search and Rescue unit also joined the search this morning.

While a search was ongoing this morning, two fisherman reported finding a body in the Shannon Estuary close to the Beeves Rock Lighthouse about 8 kilometres south west of Shannon Airport between counties Clare and Limerick.

After alerting Gardaí, members of Bunratty Search and Rescue made their way to the scene. On arrival, they found that the fishermen had managed to hook the body and hold onto it against the running tide until the rescue boat arrived.

The body was taken on board the rescue craft and recovered to the slipway at Bunratty where Gardaí were waiting. Afterwards, the body was removed by hearse to University Hospital Limerick for a post-mortem examination.

A family member later confirmed on Facebook that Mr O’Gorman’s body have been located and thanked everyone for all their help.

Mr O’Gorman had been involved with local soccer club Bridge United as a player and later as manager. A cup final match between the club and Manus Celtic, due to be played tonight, has been postponed as a mark of respect for the late Mr O’Gorman.