A teenage boy drowned after he went into a river on a horse only for the animal to be plunged underwater because of a sudden drop caused by erosion, Cork Coroner’s Court has heard.

“You had a smile for everyone, hands for boxing and a face for the ladies. We can’t picture our family without you.”

Complaints about the condition of horses on land near where a teenage boy died at the weekend prompted investigations last year, it has emerged.

Life went on as normal in Glanmire’s John O’Callaghan Park yesterday morning: People of various ages went for a typical Sunday walk in the bright sunshine, navigating the occasional puddles of mud, the last remains of the inclement weather from the day before.

A teenager has died in hospital after falling from his horse in Co Cork yesterday.