The remarkable efforts of a group of Ardara men who helped to rescue three people who were in serious difficulty in the water yesterday have been praised.
Maitiú Clerkin, Dualta Bracken and Turlough McDaid had headed to the idyllic Tramore beach in the west of Donegal for a spot of surfing yesterday afternoon when the first signs of danger became more than apparent.
“We were going down for a surf… and then the man’s wife came running to us screaming for help,” Maitiú told Donegal Daily.
Two young children and a man had gotten into difficulty in the water, with a sudden rip tide pulling them far from shore.
“I just got straight in and started paddling as I could see the two kids’ heads a good bit out (from the shore),” Maitiú said.
He praised the advice of his uncle, Joe Herron, who was also present on the beach, for being able to avoid the same dangerous waves that had brought the three people into trouble.
“My uncle is a fairly experienced surfer, so he told me in case I was going to get pulled over by the rip, to instead run over to the other side of the beach and paddle from there just in case.”
“So I went out, scooped up the two kids and made sure they were alright. They were distressed, but I also then saw their uncle who was also starting to go under as they were all out of their depth.”
“By the time I got over to where the man was, my friend Dualta had gotten to him.”
“We helped the kids to get to where they could stand and then walk back to shore, and both of us then dragged the man back into the shore.”
Both Maitiú’s uncle, Joe, and friend, Turlough waited closer to the shore to assist with bringing the children and then the man back onto the beach.
“Our uncle was helping then, as was another woman and then there were loads of people surrounding the beach soon enough.”
“Eventually a doctor came down from the caravan site, before the paramedics and air ambulance arrived to help him.”
The man was transferred to Letterkenny University Hospital by the Rescue 118 helicopter, where it is understood he remains today.
Maitiú, Turlough and Dualta after their heroic efforts.
Maitiú says that it was only through luck that his group happened to be the only others near the water when the swimmers got into difficulty.
“It was lucky, to be honest. There was nobody else in the water and the pull on that beach is pretty strong. It’s fine when you have the surfboard with you but whenever you’re swimming (it’s difficult).”
“The kids were pretty good swimmers and they were treading water for a decent amount of time, but it’s not easy (for anyone) to get out and back off of those waves.”
However despite the heroics of both himself and his friends, Maitiú’s humility also shone through when he spoke with Donegal Daily.
Indeed, he didn’t sound like someone demanding any recognition for their incredible efforts in helping to save the lives of three people.
Maitiú simply summed up the day’s events saying: ” yeah, that was it, really.”
Incredible Ardara lads praised for rescuing three people at Tramore beach was last modified: August 16th, 2025 by Daniel Brennan