Tributes have been paid to a marine biologist and member of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group who died in a climbing accident in west Cork last Thursday.
Italian Lorenzo De Bonis (27) who was studying for a PhD at University College Cork, died after falling while climbing cliffs near the Beacon in Baltimore.
Mr De Bonis, from Rome, was reported missing by his partner, Signe Martin, when he failed to return that evening. The Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Centre in Valentia began a search operation.
Coast Guard helicopters from Waterford and Shannon were tasked with the search and were joined by Baltimore RNLI, the Irish Coast Guard from Toe Head and local volunteers.
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Mr De Bonis’s body was recovered by divers from the sea near cliffs early on Friday morning. His body was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem examination.
Mr De Bonis, who is survived by Ms Martin, his parents Riccardo and Concetta and his sister, Chiara, will be remembered at a funeral service in Rome on Friday.
Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) paid tribute to Mr De Bonis on the group’s website, remembering him as a fine scientist and a valued group member.
“Lorenzo loved all outdoor activities including sailing and climbing, and it was the latter that led to his untimely passing,” said Dr Berrow.
“Our hearts go out to you all. Lorenzo will live on in our hearts and we will ensure his work will be published and leave some legacy,” he said.
He recalled how Mr De Bonis reached out to the IWDG in 2020 and contributed to the group remotely initially by preparing podcasts on the group’s Shannon dolphin research.
He later wrote a story for the IWDG magazine Flukes, about how he encountered a grey whale in the Mediterranean during one of the many yacht-based surveys he carried out.
Dr Berrow noted how Mr De Bonis studied for a MSc at the Atlantic Technological University Galway on the genetics of bottlenose dolphins after several strandings in the Shannon Estuary.
He said Mr De Bonis’s work with ATU and the IWDG on updating their knowledge on bottlenose dolphin genetics was very useful to the group, particularly in relation to solitary dolphins.
That work earned him the opportunity to study for a PhD in UCC where he became a valued mentor to students at the college’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
