Four men have been hailed as heroes after helping to rescue two young children and a man from the water at An Trá Mhór in Co Donegal last Friday.
Donegal Sinn Féin Councillor Brian Carr got into difficulty in the water while trying to rescue his son and niece who had been caught in a strong current.
Maitiú Clerkin, Dualta Bracken, Turlough McDaid and Joe Herron came to their aid and pulled them from the water.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, Maitiú Clerkin said they were at the beach when they heard a woman screaming for help.
“I could see there was two kids further out in the water. Me and Dualta had our boards so I started paddling out towards the two kids and got them,” he said.
“You couldn’t really see Brian in difficulty from the shore so I pointed at him and Dualta started making his way towards Brian.”
Mr Clerkin praised the courage of the two children and said they were remarkably calm.
“I went to the girl first. Fair play to them, they were so brave,” he said.
“They had been swept out and were just treading water. The girl had a body board, which was helping her, but the little boy had nothing. I think he had only started swimming lessons not long before. They were amazing, treading water so well. They stayed so calm.”
Mr Clerkin said Cllr Carr had swallowed water and it was “critical” to get to him.
Mr Bracken said he managed to get Cllr Carr onto his board but needed help bringing him to shore.
“Once we got Brian within his depth I expected that he’d be able to carry himself in the rest of the way but that wasn’t the case at all, we genuinely needed all the manpower we could get to bring Brian in to dry sand,” he said, adding that it is important for everyone to have basic first aid skills and life-saving skills.
“I happen to have a bit of experience in first aid and I have a few years of water safety done as well,” he said. “It really stood to me last Friday.”
Cllr Carr is recovering at Letterkenny University Hospital and both children are said to be doing well.
Cllr Carr was not in a position to speak to Morning Ireland but said he is only alive because of the men and is keen to thank them in person.