A go-fund-me page, set up to help the family of champion athlete Ailish Sheehan, who tragically passed away last Friday from injuries sustained in a fall, has raised nearly $10,000.

Ms Sheehan’s family had travelled over to Poland ahead of her participation in the Women’s Senior Coxed Fours final at the FISU World University Rowing Championships in Poznan, last Sunday.

Hours after winning a Bronze medal in the race, Ailish fell and hit her skull, sustaining critical head injuries.

She passed away last Friday, surrounded by her parents John and Catherine and her siblings Niamh and Aine, after spending six days on a life support machine in a Polish hospital.

Ailish’s devastated family are in the process of arranging to have her body flown home for burial. To help the family meet these costs of this, and hospital bills, and their extended stay in Poland, a crowdfunding online account has been set up to receive donations.

The account was set up last Wednesday in the United States where Ailish had attended university at Notre Dame.

Donations have been already made from the US, UK, and Ireland, and pledgers have posted scores of messages of support for the Sheehan family.

Ailish, a postgraduate student at Goldsmiths, University of London had been representing the University of London Boat Club at the World Championships.

She is a former member of Dooneen Athletic Club where she represented Ireland in the shot put and javelin.