GAA plans minute’s silence for lake victim

CAVAN GAA will hold a minute’s silence at all matches in the county over the weekend as a mark of respect to Simon Delaney, who died trying to save six people on a local lake on Wednesday night.

“Simon had played in goals for the Cavan Minor team in 2005 and Under-21 teams in 2007 and 2008 and was a quiet, unassuming young man,” said a county spokesman.

“He will be sadly missed by his family, relatives and friends and all in Killinkere GAA.”

Mr Delaney’s family will lay him to rest tomorrow.

Local parish priest Father Anthony Fagan said people in the close-knit parish were in shock at the deaths of Simon Delaney and Dublin man Matthew Gibbons.

“He (Simon) was a fine young man who was well regarded in the community. A gentle person,” he said.

Mr Delaney and Mr Gibbons died trying to rescue the occupants of a boat, which six people had been diving from and climbing into.

Mr Delaney’s teammate Anthony Brady had also been involved in the rescue attempt and tried to save his 21-year-old friend when he realised he was getting into difficulty.

Gardaí yesterday removed the boat from Gallon Lough for examination.

They also spent a part of the day questioning the six people about what had happened in the run-up to the tragedy.

It is believed lifejackets were found with the craft but were not being worn at the time of the accident.

The deaths of the two young men on Wednesday night came less than three weeks after two children were rescued in similar circumstances in another stretch of water in Cavan.

On that occasion, Benas Vaitkunas, 10, and Shane Clarke, 16, were saved from drowning by the swift actions of a local taxi driver and another child.

The two boys had been sitting on a polystyrene block on Swellan lake when the block flipped over.

Shane Clarke realised the 10-year-old could not swim so he stayed with him.

However, as time wore on, he himself began to tire and started to struggle.

Another child, 15-year-old Daniel Ivers and Russian taxi driver Alec Nabiulin realised the two were in trouble and dived in, dragging them ashore before successfully performing emergency resuscitation.

Meanwhile, a 73-year-old man died last night while swimming in the sea at Portmarnock in Co Dublin.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 4pm. However, despite a search the man could not be saved. His body was removed from the water 90 minutes later.