A young girl has died after falling ill at a swimming pool in south Dublin.
The nine-year-old girl was at the Tallaght Community School Sports Complex in Balrothery when the incident occurred on Friday.
She has been named locally as Michaela Gonda. Michaela , an only child, was from the Philippines, and living in the local area in Tallaght with her mother and father.
The young girl fell ill while in the water. Gardaí said they are treating the incident as a sudden death, as it is believed the girl had an underlying health issue.
A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said three units including an ambulance and a paramedic attended the scene.
The child was transferred to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin and was pronounced dead a short time later.
A postmortem will be carried out to determine the cause of death.
Michaela was involved in the school’s golf and swimming clubs, according to local councillor Mick Duff who is on the Tallaght school’s board of management.
The Labour councillor said the news of Michaela’s death was “very tragic”.
“It’s very traumatic for the community. Our deepest sympathies are with the family today” he said.
Charlie O’Connor, another local county councillor said the incident was “tragic, and a sad day for the whole community”. The Fianna Fáil councillor and former TD said there would be “a lot of upset today around the area”.
The swimming pool has been closed for Saturday, and locals have begun to leave flowers by the gates of the sports centre in Tallaght.
