A young Irish student has died following a kayaking incident in the United States.
Ella Mills, from Dublin, died following an incident on the Potomac River near Washington DC last Sunday, while on a trip with the Columbia University Whitewater Kayaking Club.
Trinity College, where she was an English Studies student, confirmed the death this morning.
Ms Mills had just begun studying at Columbia University as part of a dual BA programme, following her arrival in the US earlier this month.
In a statement, a TCD spokesperson said the college community was grieving.
"The Trinity College Dublin community is grieving the tragic loss of Ella Mills, an English Studies student who passed away on 17 September 2023. Ella was studying at Columbia University as part of a dual B.A. programme with Trinity," they said.
"Her family, friends and classmates are in our minds at this difficult time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam."
Tributes have been paid to her following the incident, with Columbia University President Minouche Shafik saying "words cannot express" how heartbroken she feels for her family and friends.
The Dean of the School of General Studies at Columbia, where Ms Mills had just began her studies, said: "Ella had a love for learning, was intellectually curious, and passionate about literature."
Lisa Rosen-Metsch said she was "eager to soak in new ways of looking at literature and viewing the world as a literary scholar", before hailing her involvement in drama and tennis societies.
"She was an active member of the Trinity College Dublin community as part of the TCD drama society, the DU Players, the TCD Tennis Club, and the Philosophical Society, among many others," Ms Rosen-Metsch said.
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Columbia University has said it will be providing counselling services to support students following her death and that a vigil was held yesterday evening.
The head of Sutton Park School in Dublin said that Ella "was a much-cherished past student" of the school.
Ronan Walsh offered the school's sympathies to Ella’s family: "Our hearts are broken for Jo-Ann, Ralph and Ella’s two siblings Isabel and Leo who are in Second Year. This is a truly tragic time. Words fail us all. Our sympathies and thoughts are with Ella’s family and her large group of friends."
