An editorial in the Galway Advertiser last November which paid tribute to those who searched for then-missing swimmer Máire Ni Fhátharta, was named one of the best in the world at a conference in South Dakota last week.
The editorial, entitled The Unspoken Sorrow of the Searchers, written by editor Declan Varley, was chosen as one of the Golden Dozen winners by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors — an honour that is awarded annually to appreciate the art of editorial writing in newspapers across the globe.
This is Declan Varley’s fifth Golden Dozen award for editorial writing in the Advertiser, having won in 2003, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
The Unspoken Sorrow of the Searchers was written on the occasion of the search for missing swimmer Máire Ni Fhátharta, the second of two swimmers to pass away when swimming off Silverstrand on one tragic morning last November. A week earlier, the body of singer/songwriter Johnny Duhan had been recovered from the water.
In response to the announcement of the award, Galway Advertiser editor Declan Varley said that the award and the writing were a tribute to those who searched for Máire, eventually leading to the discovery of her body a few days later.
“Before reprinting the editorial below, I contacted Máire’s family to inform them of the award, and they were keen that its republication now, and at the time, paid a strong tribute to those who manned the shores, who resourced the searchers, who provided them with the groundswell of love and support at that traumatic time,” said Mr Varley. “That sense of a community wrapping its arms around their shoulders gave them tremendous strength then and now. I am glad that Maire’s memory is being preserved too by this article,” he concluded.
The Unspoken Sorrow of the Searchers
Beneath the grey sky where our bay meets the ocean, the water stretches like an unspoken sorrow, endless and unknown. Waves roll in slow, rhythmic whispers, as if the ocean itself is holding its breath.
Along the shoreline, where the wet sand clings to footsteps, for the past ten days, a quiet army moves — eyes scanning the horizon, hearts heavy with hope that refuses to break. These are the seekers, the ones who stand at the edge of this vast, indifferent world, drawn by an unspoken bond to the water, where the salt air bites the skin and the wind carries whispers of the lost.
They comb the beaches, tracing the line where the sea meets the land, their fingers grazing the smooth stones and the tangle of seaweed as if by touch they could reach the lost one. The water, forever unpredictable, holds its secrets tight, its surface a mirror to the sky, hiding what lies beneath. It is a treacherous partner—beautiful in its eternal dance, but cruel in its silence.
These searchers are no strangers to the rhythm of the tide. They know the ebb and flow, the deep sigh of the sea as it pulls away from the shore, only to return once more. They know that the sea does not yield its treasures easily, that it demands patience and respect. Each sweep of the surf carries with it fragments of a story, pieces of something lost, something precious, and though the wind stings their faces, they do not turn away.
They move like shadows along the water’s edge, their footprints swallowed by the advancing tide, as if even the earth cannot remember the paths they’ve taken. Yet still, they press on, hearts threaded with a quiet determination, a shared purpose born of something more than just a search. It is a connection—deep and unspoken—between the sea and those who stand on its borders, between the soul of the missing and the hearts that maintain that bond.
The hours slip by, the sky darkening as each day dies its slow demise. Yet they do not falter, do not abandon their vigil. The sea, vast and unfathomable, may keep its secrets, but they will not stop searching. For in the sea’s depths, in the restless waves, they know that somewhere there is a whisper—soft, insistent—that the lost will be found.
The events of last week shocked us all to the core. The communities of An Spidéal and Furbo joining the hundred of others who have answered the call to help bring some comfort to the family of Máire Ni Fhátharta.
The image of the smiling woman a reminder of the joy she brought to all who knew her, the search for her a signal of the esteem in which she and her family are held.
May Máire’s family and friends feel the love and support of this community; a hand on their shoulders as they make their way through this difficult time. To those who have turned up to help, may they also feel our thanks and appreciation.
To the emergency services who do this day in, day out; who risk their lives so we may live ours, who are there standing to duty at the hour of our need, this community by the sea is thankful to them.
