The Roscommon brother and sister who perished in a drowning tragedy in Ballybunion yesterday have been named locally as 50-year-old Dessie Byrne and 62-year-old Muriel Eriksson (née Byrne).

Both are originally from Baylough near Athlone. Mr Byrne moved to Lecarrow many years ago where he lived with his partner and children. Mrs Eriksson lived in Malmo for a long time with her Swedish husband and family.

Their tragic deaths have left their families and communities in deep shock and sorrow.

Dessie was very well known in the local community in South Roscommon. He ran a very successful carpet fitting business in the region and wider midlands and was involved in numerous charity cycles with his local cycling club, Lecarrow Lazers.

Dessie and his sister, who was home on holiday from Sweden, had recently arrived in the popular Ballybunion resort in North Kerry when the tragedy occurred yesterday evening.

It’s understood that local emergency services around 6pm on Thursday that two people had got into difficulty in the water.

Their bodies were recovered from the water following a major air and sea rescue operation off Men’s Beach in Ballybunion.

The bodies of both were removed from the scene by ambulance to the mortuary in University Hospital Kerry. A file will be prepared for the coroner and post-mortems will take place in due course.

A spokesperson from the Garda Press Office confirmed that investigating officers are treating the double drowning as a tragic accident.