Mourners asked to wear bright colours at funeral for drowning victim Freya Tobin

Irish Daily Mirror

14-07-2025

Mourners have been asked to wear bright colours to the funeral of a young girl that tragically died while swimming in Tipperary last week.
The funeral details have been announced for 12-year-old Freya Tobin, who sadly passed away last Friday after getting into difficulty in the River Suir. She had just completed sixth class at the local Scoil Mhuire National School, and has been described as the "kindest, most gentle soul".
She will repose in her grandmother Triona's home in Newcastle on Tuesday, from 2-5pm. A removal will then take place the following day to Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Newcastle, with her funeral mass starting at 12pm.
A notice on RIP.ie reads: "Freya (aged 12) is pre-deceased by her Nanna Laura. She will be sadly missed by her heartbroken mother Shannen, dad Eddie and his family, brothers Grayson and Eddie, sister Stephanie Lee, grandparents Nanna Triona and her partner Tom, Grandad OJ and his partner Colleen, uncle Dylan and his partner Ericka, aunt Amber, grandaunts, granduncles, cousins, extended family and her many friends especially her best friends Sean, Emily and Charlotte.
"Freya's family requests mourners to wear bright colours at her funeral please." Last Friday, it is understood that Freya and another friend both got into difficulty swimming around the same time. Freya's friend managed to swim to safety and raise the alarm.
A number of local boys heard the screams of the girls and dived into the water to help. In a multi-agency response, Gardaí, National Ambulance Service personnel and firefighters from Clonmel Fire Station's swift water rescue team attended the scene.
Freya was transferred to Cork University Hospital (CUH) by the Irish Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue 117 helicopter after being recovered from the water at around 4.45pm on Friday. A fundraiser has been set up to help Freya's grieving family with funeral costs.
A GoFundMe fundraiser, The Funeral of Freya Tobin, details how the local community has been affected by the "devastating event", describes Freya as the "kindest, most gentle soul to grace the community of Newcastle" and how her death leaves behind a "wave of deep sorrow and regret".
It reads: "What should have been another day of summer holiday fun turned into an unimaginable nightmare. In what can only be described as a tragic and utterly devastating event, our beloved Freya drowned in the River Suir while swimming with her dear friend Emily.
"There wasn't a single person who did not know her name, nor whom she wouldn't have said hello to when passing through the village. She touched the hearts of every single person that had the pleasure of knowing her, and you couldn't help but leave her company with a smile on your face."