Shay Lynch was described as a ‘bright’ and ‘bubbly’ boy who loved helping out his family
Tributes have poured in for a seven-year-old Irish boy who died after getting into difficulty at a hotel swimming pool.
Shay Lynch, from Clonlara, Co Clare, was celebrating his friend’s confirmation at a hotel in Killaloe on Saturday afternoon when he was seen to be in trouble in the pool.
An ambulance was called and took him to hospital but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
A local media report suggested he was already unconscious when he was pulled out of the water and never regained consciousness.
Shay’s school said his ‘bright smile and his kind heart endeared him to everyone in our school community’.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his parents Tania and James, his sister Abi, the extended family and his wide circle of friends,’ it added in a statement.
Ireland’s prime minister, Simon Harris, joined in sending his condolences to Shay’s grieving family.
In a social media post he said: ‘Absolutely heartbreaking. I know people right across Ireland are keeping this family and the community of Clonlara in Co Clare in their thoughts and prayers at such a sad and difficult time.’
The councillor for the Killaloe area said Shay was a ‘very bright, bubbly, very loved child’ who was ‘very into helping his dad’.
‘Shay was very proactive in helping him complete numerous tasks around his house, at home doing jobs and so forth.
‘Like any seven-year-old, full of devilment but full of life and full of love and full of affection for his family also.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are very much with Shay’s family,’ Tony O’Brien told RTÉ Radio One.
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