The President, Mrs McAleese, yesterday paid a special visit to the families of the three teenage victims of the Strandhill drowning tragedy. On her first official visit to Co Sligo, the President took time out from a busy schedule to travel to Gurteen, where she met the families of Bobby Taylor, Michael Higgins and Tommy Coyle, who were swept out to sea when bathing at Strandhill beach 10 days ago. She also met the sole survivor of the tragedy, 18-yearold Lawrence Cooke, and his family.
"There's not much anyone can say to these families at a shattering time like this, but I wanted to meet them to show we care about them and that our hearts are breaking for them," the President told reporters in Sligo.
On Friday the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, will meet a delegation from the Strandhill Community Organisation during a visit to Sligo to hear at first hand their concerns about the withdrawal of a lifeguard service from the beach four years ago.
There will be a public meeting in Strandhill on Thursday night to open a campaign to improve safety at the beach. It is likely to be "an emotional and angry meeting," according to a spokesman, Mr Kieran Mulrooney.
"There is still a great deal of anger in Strandhill. We want assurances that every precaution will be taken to ensure that we never again have a tragedy of this nature," he said.
Meanwhile, in an unexpected development yesterday, a meeting of Sligo County Council convened specifically to discuss the tragedy was adjourned as a mark of respect to the bereaved families. The council had been heavily criticised following the tragedy for its decision to withdraw a lifeguard service from the beach, and it had been expected that yesterday's meeting would address this and other issues.
But to the surprise of many of the councillors, a decision was taken to adjourn the meeting after only 15 minutes, during which votes of sympathy to the families were passed and tributes paid to those involved in the rescue and search operations.
The proposal to adjourn the meeting came from Cllr Gerry Murray, who represents the Gurteen area on the council. He said no words could adequately express the sorrow which councillors felt for the bereaved families. His proposal was unanimously accepted.
However, Sligo's Mayor, Councillor McLaughlin, who represents the Strandhll area, urged the council to meet again as a matter of urgency to address the serious issues raised by the tragedy . . . to ensure that "no family ever again has to go through what the three unfortunate Gurteen families have been subjected to."
Cllr Declan Bree spoke of the shock and disbelief which had been widespread throughout the county in the wake of the tragedy.
"We cannot afford to ignore the lessons of this appalling event," he warned members.
There is to be a full discussion of the drownings at a meeting in Sligo on Friday, which will be attended by representatives of the National Safety Council, the Marine Rescue Service, gardai and officials of Sligo County Council.
"Everything will be on the table, as we try to identify exactly what can be done to avoid a recurrence of this type of tragedy," Mr Tim Caffrey, Sligo county secretary, said.