The tragic drowning of a schoolboy at a popular bathing spot during last summer’s heatwave has prompted official calls for the installation of new warning signs.

The family of a boy who drowned during last summer’s heatwave are still too traumatised to give direct evidence at an inquest, a coroner was told yesterday.

Members of Youghal United soccer club provided a guard of honour at the funeral of a team-mate who drowned in the sea last week.

It has become a familiar scene this week — children playing and splashing in the sea as the sun shines. But yesterday, in one popular seaside resort touched by a drowning tragedy, the mood was different, the laughing muted.