Kind, with a bubbly personality and a beautiful smile is how the young girl who drowned in Cork yesterday has been described.
Emily Roman, who would have turned eight tomorrow with her twin brother Jeremy, got into difficulty while swimming at Fountainstown beach, near Crosshaven, in Co Cork.
It is understood that Jeremy was on the beach when Emily got into difficulty.
Her father, Slawomir, was also on the beach when her body was recovered three hours later.
Emily was a second-class pupil at the Church of Ireland Templebreedy National School in Crosshaven. It is a small school, with 67 pupils, four teachers and a number of support staff.
A statement issued today on behalf of the school, its board of management and its patron, the Bishop of Cork, said the entire school community and local parish are "in shock and are utterly devastated" and "heartbroken" for her family.
Principal Doris Bryan, who is also Emily's teacher, said she was bubbly and kind and "greatly loved by everyone and was very popular with all her friends".
Ms Bryan added: "She was also very artistic and a gifted young girl.
"On behalf of the school I extend our deepest sympathies to Emily's parents, Marta and Slawomir, her older sister Inga and her twin brother Jeremy."
The school has implemented its critical incident plan and psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service are on site offering support along with local clergy.
Bishop Paul Colton said everyone is in shock and devastated.
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"Most of us cannot begin to imagine the suffering that this family must now be going through," he said.
"On behalf of us all in the Church of Ireland, in general, and in connection with Templebreedy National School and Templebreedy parish, in particular, I too extend our sincere sympathy to everyone in the Roman family," he said.
He paid tribute to the first responders and everyone in the rescue services, saying he was conscious of the impact of such a tragedy on each of them.
Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney has said the community is "broken" after Emily's death.
Speaking to the media in Co Wicklow ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Cork TD Simon Coveney said it had been a summer of tragic deaths.
"We've also seen, particularly in my own home city of Cork, extraordinary tragedy again in the last 24 hours in terms of the drowning of a young eight-year-old girl," he said.
"It's been a desperate summer in the context of tragedy involving children, both on our roads and unfortunately with water accidents as well, two of them very close to where I live.
"The community is just broken again this morning.
"On behalf of the Government I want to say our thoughts are with the family and the community and the children who are going to school today with an empty seat."
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Audrey Buckley described the discovery of Emily's body as "horrific".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said she lives near the beach and heard the helicopters yesterday evening.
Ms Buckley said the beach has a lifeguard present in the summer and for the first two weeks of September.
She said that yesterday was a beautiful day and there were many children at the beach after school with their parents and it was meant to be a nice fun family afternoon.
"And it just turned to tragedy," she said.
Emily's funeral will take place on Saturday morning in the Church of Our Lady and St John followed by a burial at St John's Cemetery in Ballinrea.
Her family have said they would like to thank all those who assisted in the search for their daughter and have asked for privacy at this time.
Emily was one of two people who died in water-related incidents yesterday. A man in his 80s also died at Curracloe in Co Wexford after becoming ill in the water.
Additional reporting Paschal Sheehy, PA
