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Tributes have been paid to a former member of the Defence Forces who died after getting into difficulty while swimming in in Limerick city on Monday afternoon.
The 22-year-old, named locally as Aaron Buckley, from Clara in Co Offaly, is understood to have been swept under the surface of the Abbey River by a fast flowing current.
A friend who was with Mr Buckley alerted the emergency services and a search operation took place. A body was recovered at about 6pm near Arthur’s Quay.
A postmortem was due to take place on at University Hospital Limerick on Tuesday. Gardaí are treating Mr Buckley’s death as a tragic accident and file will be prepared for the coroner.
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Mr Buckley is survived by his parents Alvin and Edel, brothers Gavin and Noah, sister Jemma, and grandparents Pat and Ann Egan and Michael and Ann Buckley, according to an obituary notice published online.
In a message posted on its facebook page, Mr Buckley’s GAA Club Erin Rovers, passed on its “sincere condolences” to his family and friends.
“Aaron was a very talented young footballer and was part of the team which won the intermediate title in 2017. Not alone was he a very talented footballer, he was also a very down to earth man who was always in good form and had a smile on his face,” the club said.
His funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.