In the Bannow Bay area of south Wexford, locals refer to it simply as "the tragedy". Had the two people who drowned in the bay in August been from Wellingtonbridge or Carrick-on-Bannow or Cullens town, the shock and grief experienced in the area could hardly have been sharper.
Mick Gaffney (52) and his seven-year-old nephew, Jonathan Dowdall, who died while on a cockle-picking expedition, were Dubliners, but the families returned year after year for their annual holiday. Even this year, when the Gaffneys and Dowdalls opted for a rare holiday abroad - in Spain in July - they still found time for a trip to Wexford.
"It was our first foreign holiday in 10 years, but even after being in Spain we couldn't wait to get to Cullenstown," Jonathan's father, John Dowdall, recalled this week.
"Mick really loved the place. The first day we arrived we were walking along the beach and he said `Spain was nice, but this is where I want to be.' "
The families, both from north Dublin, liked Bannow Bay and they were popular visitors. When Mick and Jonathan drowned, the local community shared their grief, and now locals and the bereaved families are uniting again to ensure the tragedy is never repeated.
They are demanding that Wexford County Council erect warning signs so the bay's many hundreds of recreational users are made aware of the particular dangers posed by incoming tides, particularly at Cockle Strand from where Mick, his son Raymond (13), and Jonathan set off. Mick, an experienced fisherman and boatman who had been collecting cockles in the area for nine years, did not know that the storm of last Christmas Eve had shifted a large sandbank, thus altering the incoming tide's behaviour.
Finding that the cockle beds closer to shore had already been harvested, Mick and the boys ventured further than they normally would. Without knowing how rapidly the tide now comes in, they could not have known they were in danger.
"The storm made a difference to the way the sand is distributed around the bay. The tide comes in now at an unbelievable speed," says local garda John Stafford. "There's definitely a need for signs to say that things have changed."
When Mick realised the danger, he tried to swim to safety with Raymond and Jonathan on his back. Only Raymond made it to the shore. He ran to a local house to raise the alarm.
Hours later Mick's body was discovered in the water by a local man, Mr Nigel Pierce, who had joined in the frantic search operation. It took another 13 days before Jonathan's body was found, despite a sustained search involving various rescue services and local volunteer groups.
It was found by Nigel's wife, Mary Pierce. Living about half a mile from Cockle Strand, to her the need for warning signs is self-evident.
"People are going further and further out after the cockles. It looks quite safe but the channels there are quite dangerous. It really took over the whole community. It was a total shock and people are still talking about it. There would be plenty of support locally for something to be done."
Wexford County Council's water safety development officer, Mr Jimmy O'Leary, said any requests for signs alerting people to the dangers at Cockle Strand would be acted upon, but he was not aware of any such requests having arrived yet
That's about to change, however, as a relative of the bereaved families, Mr Freddie Snowe, has written in recent days to the chairman of Wexford County Council, Mr Leo Carthy, asking why no warning signs are visible, and if, where and when the council would consider erecting some.
Letters have been written to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, and the Minister of State at that Department, Mr Hugh Byrne, in whose constituency the tragedy happened. The purpose of the campaign, John Dowdall says, is to ensure "no other family has to suffer what we're going through".
Nearly four months after those awful days, he is hopeful the council will now take action.
