Emily would have turned 8 today
“I was going to head off and then I saw one of the volunteers lift her in. She was only about 10 or 15 feet out, the poor little thing.”
A Cork County Councillor has described the awful moment the search was called off for little Emily Ronan after her body was discovered at Fountainstown beach on Tuesday.
Cllr Audrey Buckley (Fianna Fail) stood with onlookers on Tuesday evening as volunteers raced to find Emily who had gone missing at 4.40pm while swimming with her twin brother Jeremy.
Today, Thursday, would have been their eight birthday.
Emily, a 2nd class pupil at Templebreedy National School in Crosshaven, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“I was there in Fountainstown when they brought her in,” said Cllr Buckley. “I was going to head away because I didn't want to be there when they called off the search.
“A lot of them (the volunteers) are local volunteers so it was like one of their own was in the water. Her brother was there the whole time,” added Ms Buckley.
Paying tribute to Emily, school principal and also Emily’s class-teacher, Doris Bryan, described her as “kind, with a bubbly personality”.
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Ms Bryan said: “She had a beautiful smile. She was greatly loved by everyone and was very popular with all her friends.
“She was also very artistic and a gifted young girl. On behalf of the school, I extend our deepest sympathies to Emily’s parents, Marta and Slawomir, her older sister Inga and her twin brother Jeremy,” she added.
Following the tragedy, Templebreedy National School has implemented its critical incident plan, with psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service already onsite to offer support and advice to the school.
Emily’s death follows the tragic loss of 14 year old Jack O’Sullivan who died on 24 August after getting into difficulty while swimming with friends at Passage West in Cork's lower harbour.
Cllr Seamus McGrath said: “The tragedy at Fountainstown beach is truly devastating. The whole community is shocked and numb and are expressing feelings of total disbelief and sadness.
“The lower harbour area has experienced awful tragedies in recent weeks and people are really just finding it all so difficult to comprehend.”
Earlier last month, young André Ladeiro from Carrigaline was struck by a car while cycling. He died four days later in at Temple Street in Dublin.
Bishop of Cork Paul Colton, patron of Emily’s Church of Ireland school, said: “Most of us cannot begin to imagine the suffering that this family must now be going through. We are all, however, in shock and devastated.
“A tragedy like this is having a traumatic effect also on this small parish school at the start of this new school year, and also the wider community.”
A GoFundMe campaign called ‘Share love for Emily’ has been started to help Emily’s family in the challenging times ahead. To donate, visit gofundme.com and search 'Share love for Emily'.