The 8-year-old who drowned last Thursday at a Navan swimming pool was “a boy to be proud of”, according to a community activist in the town.
Local man Deji Adenuga told Metro Éireann he’d encountered the youngster, Isaac Adeyefa, during a talk on diversity at St Oliver Plunkett’s National School in Navan, where the late boy was a classmate of his daughter.
“That boy stood out in that class, always asking sensible questions. I thought he was a young boy to be proud of,” he commented.
The Nigerian community in the Co Meath town have been left reeling following the tragedy last Thursday: “Everybody was the father and mother of that child, everyone has been showing concern,” explained Adenuga.
Gardai are currently examining the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occ-urred at 3.20pm on Thursday, when eight qualified lifeguards manned the Aura Leisureplex pool. A special offer of €1 entry was operating at the time, and one source told Metro Éirerann that the facility was “jam packed”.
A statement from Aura Sport and Leisure Management Ltd disputes this, however, referring to the 25-metre pool as operating “at just over 60 per cent” capacity. The company said it has “a comprehensive set of safety and emergency procedures” at its 10 centres.
“The child was rescued from the pool by lifeguards who had observed him in difficulty,” read the statement. “He was attended to by lifeguards on the pool deck and the company’s emergency response plan was activated. Emergency services also attended the scene and removed the child to Navan General Hospital.”
Isaac Adeyefa was pronounced dead at the hospital and a post-mortem confirmed death by drowning.
