A bride-to-be who drowned on a friend's hen party in Ireland will be buried in the wedding dress she never got to wear.

Ruth Maguire, 30, is believed to have fallen into Carlingford Lough in County Louth shortly after midnight on Saturday when she became separated from her friends after leaving Taaffe's Bar.

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Speaking after her body was recovered on Monday, her fiancé James Griffin paid an emotional tribute, writing on Facebook: 'Ruth wasn't just my partner, she was my soul mate. Stay safe love always James and your three beautiful children.'

At some point on Saturday night she is believed to have told a doorman she intended to walk home to Newcastle, and at around midnight she posted a photo on Instagram with the Lough in the background.

By 11.30pm, the rest of the hen party were back in the house and realised Ruth was not with them.

The nursing assistant's friends started searching for her immediately upon realising she was missing.

They then raised the alarm, prompting a much wider search by police, coastguard and members of the public.

Credits: Daily Mail