A community is planning to erect a memorial to a father and his teenage son from Douglas who drowned in an Irish lough.

Jonathan Christian, 53, and his two sons aged 17 and 15 had been fishing from the shore of Lough Keel, County Donegal, when disaster unfolded last Thursday afternoon.

They had taken a break from working on a property Mr Christian had bought to renovate at Coolboy on the outskirts of Letterkenny.

The family had been in Ireland for a couple of weeks since Covid lockdown restrictions eased there.

Mr Christian worked for his brother’s Douglas-based cleaning business Excel Cleaning Services.

Shortly before 3pm on the day of the tragedy the 17-year-old son went into the water to retrieve something he had dropped.

His father shouted at him to come back as he was getting further and further out.

When he didn’t come back, Mr Christian jumped into the water to find him.

In the meantime, the youngest son, realising his brother was struggling, went into the lough too.

Mr Christian pulled the 15-year-old back to the shore and then went to rescue his older son. Tragically, the father and his oldest son both lost their lives.

Roofer Frank McGettigan, who lives half a mile from the lough, helped in the search operation.

He said: ’I was working along the road when the rescue crew passed me and then I saw the rescue helicopter.

’I was there very quickly. The young lad was in the ambulance. There was a lot of confusion. I know the lough very well, I’ve been fishing there since before I was a teenager. I helped search along the north shore.

’They found the father first and I saw them recover the young lad. I saw them side by side on the shore. It’s very sad.’

Mr McGettigan said a lot of young people have been gathering at the lough during the lockdown but they didn’t realise how dangerous it can be.

Mr McGettigan said the community wanted to erect a memorial, commemorating the deaths of the father and son, and also a local man who had drowned in the lough 99 years ago.

Members of Irish Water who were working in the area heard cries for help shortly after 2.45pm and made an emergency call.

Malin Head Coastguard received the emergency call just before 3pm and scrambled the local emergency services.

The Rescue 118 helicopter was scrambled from its base in Sligo while the Mulroy Coastguard also arrived on the scene supported by Garda and ambulance personnel.

Specialist divers from Sheephaven Sub-Aqua Unit were also brought in to search the area.

The body of the first victim was recovered early in the search.

However, it took another couple of hours to locate the second body which was recovered after 6pm by the divers. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Members of the Garda - the Irish police - could be seen removing two fishing rods from the scene later in the evening.

An investigation by the Garda into the tragedy is ongoing.

A spokesman for the Manx police confirmed they had been informed and had spoken to relatives in the island.

A member of the rescue services at Lough Keel told reporters: ’To look at the young lad who survived would break your heart. He was just heartbroken and distraught.

Local councillor Michael McBride said: ’People are understandably saddened and shocked over what has happened. For a family day out to end up like this is just unthinkable.

’I understand they were fishing from the shore and got into difficulty.

’It is very traumatic for the son who survived the incident and the community wish him a speedy recovery.

’I want to offer my condolences to the man’s family. We are united in our grief.’