Tributes paid to father and son who drowned near Ashington estate

Floral tributes encircled the base of a tree on Ashington Green, close to the stream where the bodies of Sean Sweeney and his young son Tyler Joyce were discovered near the Royal Canal in Dublin on Easter Sunday.

Easter Eggs and soft toys were left along with flowers and cards marking the loss of the lives of a three-year-old boy and his 36-year-old father.

Postmortem examinations carried out on Monday indicate the father and son died by drowning after falling into the water on Saturday night.

Gardaí said they were treating the incident at as a tragic accident.

The bodies were discovered by a passerby at about 3pm on Sunday at the stream, adjacent to the Dublin-Maynooth rail line and the south bank of the Royal Canal.

While there is no formal walkway at this point, it is thought Mr Sweeney had been using a gap made by pulling back steel palisade fencing to cross the railway line and then the canal at the ninth lock.

Handwritten notes left with bouquets attested to the fact Mr Sweeney, who had grown up in the area, and his son would be missed.

“Sean, I can’t believe we’re never going to see you again. I don’t have a single childhood memory without you in it. You’ll be always missed and never forgotten. Hope you are at peace now with your baby boy,” read one note.

‘Huge heart’

Another described Mr Sweeney has having a “huge heart” and read “it was a privilege spending a childhood with you”.

One note addressed to Tyler and signed by relatives asked the “angels to mind him and keep him safe”.

A number of local residents said on Monday they had previously raised concerns with Irish Rail about the dangers of access to the rail line.

“We were very shocked to hear what happened,” one woman walking with her husband said “but that problem of people getting through the fence and crossing the rail line has been going on for years.”

Another woman who was walking on the large open green space with her two small children said she would be concerned about them playing in the area on their own when they were older.

“My two are only small, but I know the teenagers here are always getting over the wall and through the fence and the ditch is just below them, then train tracks that are always busy.”

Irish Rail said there was an ongoing problem with people trespassing on the line at this point.

“We have had repeated incidences of the palisade fencing being damaged. The last time it was repaired was on March 12th, and it was last checked on March 21st and it was intact at that time,” spokesman Barry Kenny said.

“We have line inspection staff walking this line very regularly. Trespass on the rail line is something we always look to prevent.”

Mr Kenny extended his sympathies to the families of the deceased.

Irish Rail was granted planning permission for a new train station at Ashington Green in October 2014, but no work has progressed on the project. A new footbridge over the canal and rail line was included in the grant of permission.