Happy ending to lost wedding band story has a nice ring to it!

A DISTRICT Court Judge said it was indeed ‘a happy ending’ after being told that gardaí were able to trace the owner of a wedding ring that was lost on the Warren Beach almost four years ago.

Sgt Paul Kelly outlined the case to Judge James McNulty at a recent sitting of Clonakilty District Court. He said that back in January gardaí had applied in court for the ring to be forfeited to the State as the owner had not come forward to claim the ring, despite numerous appeals online by An Garda Síochána.

‘You adjourned the case and asked for one final push to highlight the wedding ring that was found and I am pleased to inform you that the ring has been re-united by its owner before Valentine’s Day,’ said Sgt Kelly, who then withdrew the application.

Judge McNulty said at the time that it could be ‘someone’s lucky day’.

Sgt Kelly also thanked Judge McNulty and the media in court for highlighting the case.

‘This is indeed a happy ending,’ said Judge McNulty, who reminded the court that the following day was February 29th.

Declan Goode, originally from Midleton, but now living in Eadestown in Kildare, lost the wedding ring, with the inscription ‘SARA 20/06/08’ at the Warren Beach on June 4th 2016.

However, he mistakenly believed that he lost it while cycling on the Beara Peninsula.

His ring was eventually found almost a year later on September 9th 2017.

Despite numerous garda online appeals the ring remained unclaimed and was about to be forfeited to the State until the appeal was re-posted online following Judge McNulty’s recommendation. That’s when a friend of Declan and his wife Sara spotted it.

Speaking to The Southern Star recently, Declan said they were ‘absolutely delighted’ that the ring they thought they had lost forever turned up almost four years later.

‘This ring is very special and has a lot of sentimental value for us because we spent nine years living in Amsterdam and brought the ring from a jewellery shop that we used to live over,’ said Declan.

With no hope of his wedding ring showing up, Sara bought Declan a replica wedding ring from the same jewellery shop last March so now he has the dilemma of owning two wedding rings.

Declan thanked the gardaí in Bandon for all their help as well as the finder of the ring, who it is believed to have left the country.

Declan also found himself at  the centre of media attention in recent weeks as the public interest grew about his story.