Drowning Death In NI Pond Sparks Further NI Flag Controversy

29th July 2014

#Drowning - The death of a 68-year-old man who drowned while apparently attempting to remove Irish tricolour flags from an island in a Co Armagh pond has sparked new political tensions in Northern Ireland.

According to RTÉ News, Oswald Bradley died after getting into difficulty while swimming in Bessbrook Pond, near Newry, yesterday evening (Monday 28 July).

UTV LIve quotes local SDLP politician Dominic Bradley who, while expressing his condolences, said: "It would appear that the man attempted to swim across Bessbrook Pond with the intention of removing two Tricolour flags that had been placed on an island there and replace them with a Union flag."

Meanwhile, fellow MLA Danny Kennedy of the UUP said the deceased was "highly respected and liked within the Bessbrook community. I counted him as a personal friend and I am deeply upset by his untimely and tragic death."

UTV Live has more on the story HERE.

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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