One dead, one missing in Cavan lake tragedy
A team of divers was today searching for the body of a man who went missing when a water rescue went tragically wrong.
A second would-be rescuer drowned in the Co Cavan lake as he tried to help three people who got in to difficulty in a boat.
The tragedy unfolded when the men swam out to assist the trio on Gallon Lough, between Virginia and Bailieborough, at around 7pm last night.
The dead man, a local 21-year-old GAA footballer, was later recovered from the water and pronounced dead in Cavan General Hospital.
The missing man is believed to be from Dublin. All three people on the boat made it to the shore.
A local civil defence unit and a garda sub-aqua unit will continue to search for the body of the second man throughout the day.
The dead man was named locally as Simon Delaney, from the parish of Killinkere.
Parish priest Father Anthony Fagan said people in the close-knit parish were in shock.
“Everybody knows each other here and people would have known Simon,” he said. “There is a sense of shock and hurt over the loss of such a young life.
“He was a fine young man who was well regarded in the community. A gentle person.”
Mr Delaney’s funeral will be held on Saturday morning.
