The tragic teenager who died after falling from a waterfall was remembered as "a really good lad".
Lewis Fleming, 15, from Co Antrim, was on holiday with his family in the Powerscourt area of Co Wicklow when he fell on Wednesday afternoon.
The teenager attended Coleraine Grammar School, whose students and staff are mourning the loss of their friend and pupil.
The school’s principal, Dr David Carruthers, said their community is “devastated” to hear of Lewis’s death.
He told RTE Radio 1 on Thursday: “Lewis had a wide circle of friends in school, and we’ll be helping to support those pupils as we return to school in a couple of weeks’ time.
“Lewis was a lovely fella, just a happy, go-lucky, cheerful sort of guy.
“Often between teachers and pupils there’s a bit of a gap between us but Lewis wasn’t like that at all. He was always happy to have a chat, and had a great sense of fun.
“He was heavily involved in school life, playing rugby and athletics and swimming.
“He was just a really good lad and good fun to be with.”
For Lewis’s friends who are returning to school amidst the uncertainty of Covid-19, his untimely death brings added sadness and concern.
Dr Carruthers said: “He was going into Year 12, which would have been GCSEs, and obviously we’ve been out of school since the 20th of March so that has added to the sense of anticipation in coming back to school and everybody getting to see their friends again.
“So we’ll make sure we do everything we can to support his circle of friends who are going to feel this very, very keenly.”
Mr Carruthers said that no family expects to have a tragic death like this occur while on holiday, and he extended his sympathies to Lewis’s family.
He said: “Ordinary family days out, just by an awful accident, can turn out to have this tragic outcome. It’s terrible, absolutely terrible.”
