Warning issued after six drown in last week

The chief executive of Irish Water Safety (IWS), John Leech, says drowning tragedies are avoidable.

He was speaking just hours before it emerged a teenage boy had drowned in Ardnacrusha, Co Clare.

The IWS is urging people to avoid unsupervised bathing areas and to swim in where there is a lifeguard. Around 140 people drown in Ireland each year.