Thirty-five people drown in Ireland every year.

Irish Water Safety’s Awareness Week is reminding people of the dangers of mixing alcohol and water based activities

The vast majority of drowning victims in Ireland are male, while the average age is 42.

Roger Sweeney of Irish Water Safety says alcohol consumption is a contributory factor in a number cases: “In one recent study that we carried out, alcohol was present in one third of all drownings.

“And again, alcohol leads to impaired judgement, it impairs your sense of distance and direction, and that is fatal in an aquatic environment because you may think you can swim to the other side but you may perhaps have overestimated your own ability.”