Rescue heroes honoured for bravery
WEXFORD heroes have received bravery awards for saving lives in near-drowning rescues at home and abroad.
Thirty-two people were saved from drowning through the brave actions of 47 rescuers who received official recognition at Irish Water Safety’s national annual awards ceremony at Dublin Castle last week.
Three of the rescues involved people from Wexford.
Simon Coveney, Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government, who presented the Seiko Just in Time awards, said it was an honour to pay tribute to the courageous and deserving award winners.
‘ Tragically an average of 133 people drown in Ireland every year,’ said IWS Chairman Martin O’Sullivan, ‘and although that’s 133 too many, the figure would be even higher but for the dramatic efforts of these individuals who saved others from drowning and the ongoing work of volunteers teaching swimming and water rescue skills.’
Among those honoured was Sean Thompson from Carne, a member of the 6th Wexford Tuskar Sea Scouts, who dived from a 25 ft high bridge into the water during a family holiday in Turkey in July and swam down to the riverbed to save a 14 year old who had sunk like a stone after one of the boy’s cousins landed on his head after jumping into the water behind him.
Sean hauled the unconscious boy to the surface and with the help of fellow scout Mollie Tamara, from Dublin, (who was also honoured), dragged him to the shore where they gave him CPR.
In August, brothers Laurence and William Duggan came to the rescue of an 11-year old girl who was stuck in mudflats near the Ferrycarrig Hotel. They heard the cries for help and immediately went to the rescue, deploying a lifebuoy on the riverbank and calmly giving the girl instructions so as not to alarm her further as they brought her to safety.
The young girl was reunited with her family who were visiting from County Kerry.
Fifteen minutes later, the area where the child was embedded, was covered by an incoming tide.
In February, Sergeant Jarlath Duffy observed a man in distress in the water at the River Slaney, at Enniscorthy. Fully uniformed, the garda entered the water and brought the man to safety.
Speaking at the time of the rescue, he said: ‘It was just something that had to be done. It wasn’t all just me either’.