Tributes pour in for 'one of life's characters' Dessie Byrne

Dessie Byrne and his sister Muriel Eriksson died in a drowning accident on Thursday in Ballybunion, Co Kerry. One tribute read: 'He was always a hero'.

The man who died trying to save his sister from drowning has been remembered as “one of life’s characters”.

The tribute, from a friend of the 53-year-old Co Roscommon carpenter Dessie Byrne, was one of hundreds of tributes and condolences posted on the Rip.ie memorial site.