Sligo men honoured for bravery

THREE Sligo men were recipients of the SEIKO Just In Time Award after they rescued a man who had entered the Garavogue River in August.

On the 6 th of August, Garda Stephen Fahy received a call that a man had entered the water at the Garavogue River.

He went to the river and noticed that a large crowd had gathered on the bridge. Both Garda Fahy and Adam McGoldrick entered the water and swam out approximately 30 metres to the man. Adam brought a ring-buoy with him.

Garda James Conneely jumped into a small boat that was along the riverbank and with one ore made his way up the river towards Garda Fahy and Adam to assist in the rescue.

They brought the casualty to shallower water and then up onto a nearby embankment where the man was taken to hospital and treated for hypothermia.

Minister Michael Ring, Minister for Rural & Community Development, presented the awards on the day.

He said: “Complacency around aquatic environments is simply not an option”, remarked Mr Ring, adding that “thirty children aged fourteen and under drowned in ten years, reflecting the importance of constant uninterrupted child supervision.

“The work of Irish Water Safety’s volunteers in teaching and assessing Lifeguards pays dividends at our waterways every year, reflected in the fact that Lifeguards rescued 302 people from drowning nationwide this summer, administered first aid on 3,777 occasions and reunited 298 lost children found wandering unsupervised near water.”