Woman who drowned in Greystones named as Bray schoolteacher

Tragedy occurred as three friends went for Saturday afternoon dip on North Beach

A woman aged in her 50s who drowned after she and two friends got into difficulty swimming in the sea in Co Wicklow has been named locally as school teacher Lynne Freeman.

Gardaí and emergency services went to the North Beach in Greystones at 12.30pm on Saturday after receiving reports of three swimmers in trouble.

The alarm was raised when the women got into difficulty and it is understood assistance was provided initially by members of Greystones Sailing Club who were running a powerboat training course nearby.

The water conditions were said to be rough at the time. The three women, all in their 50s, were taken from the water.

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Ms Freeman was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was taken to Loughlinstown hospital for a postmortem.

A second woman was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital. She is understood to have been discharged later. The third woman was treated at the scene by emergency services.

Ms Freeman, a mother of two, was a member of staff at Ravenswell Primary School in Bray and formerly worked in Delgany National School. She was originally from the UK and was understood to have been a regular swimmer.

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien is an Irish Times journalist