Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I pay tribute to 15-year-old Kofi Owusu from Dundalk, County Louth, who lost his life after getting into difficulty swimming in Laytown, County Meath, last Friday. Our condolences go to his family, his friends and to the wider community. We have all heard the tributes from Redeemer Celtic and Tomás Sharkey in Coláiste Chú Chulainn, the school he attended. We have heard of his diligence, his leadership qualities and his friendship. A huge hole has been left by this. We are talking about somebody who was a spectacular footballer and basketball player but he sounded like an all-round really great kid. This happened just a couple of days following the death of Isobel McCluskey and highlights the dangers of swimming and water. We hope we have a good summer but there is an absolute necessity that we do all we can with regard to information because we have had too many of these tragedies across Ireland.

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