{"id":15312,"date":"2025-08-22T03:27:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T03:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/15312\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T03:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T03:27:12","slug":"councillor-thanks-heroic-young-life-savers-after-donegal-beach-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/15312\/","title":{"rendered":"Councillor thanks heroic young life-savers after Donegal beach drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

A businessman and county councillor has thanked four men who saved his life and the lives of his young son and niece after they were swept out to sea by a rip current in Co Donegal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brian Carr and wife Marie were enjoying a happy day out with his family at Tramore Beach between Ardara and Nairn last Friday when disaster struck.<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s son Ben, 9 and niece, Amelia, 10, had gone for a swim but had been pulled out to sea.<\/p>\n

The children called out for help and Brian waded into the water to help but was also soon pulled out into dangerous waters.<\/p>\n

Reliving the story from his hospital bed at Letterkenny University Hospital where he is recovering, Brian said he knows he is lucky to be alive.<\/p>\n

He recalled \u201cI ran to the water and saw them calling for help. I waded in, but the further I swam, the stronger the current pulled us out. Soon I was out of my depth, struggling against large waves as I\u2019m not a strong swimmer.<\/p>\n

Amelia clung to a bodyboard while Ben treaded water, both crying for help. I fought the waves, but exhaustion quickly set in. I floated on my back, trying to recover. Ben\u2019s call, \u201cYou\u2019re close now, Daddy\u201d that gave me strength to try to push on again, but the waves kept forcing me back. I remember shouting to the kids, \u201cKeep swimming!\u201d but I could go no further.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of the corner of my eye, I saw someone on a surfboard and yelled, \u201cGet the kids\u201d not realising that\u2019s where he was going.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoments later, someone grabbed me and dragged me to a board. Im not sure but I must have passed out as I don\u2019t remember the journey to shore the next thing I remember was being pulled up the beach by the arms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luckily for Brian and the two children, three local lads were swimming on the beach that day and came to their rescue.<\/p>\n

Maiti\u00fa Clerkin, Dualta Bracken and Turlough McDaid had headed to the idyllic Tramore beach in the west of Donegal for a spot of surfing.<\/p>\n

All three are capable swimmers and guided by their uncle Joe Herron, they managed to rescue Brian and the children from the water.<\/p>\n

Brian said he remembers little of the rescue and was whisked away by the Rescue 118 helicopter.<\/p>\n

However, he says there is no question the three lads and their uncle are real-life heroes.<\/p>\n

He added \u201cTo us, they are true heroes, a credit to themselves, their families, and their community. I have only made contacted with Dualta as I\u2019m still in hospital and both Marie and I are slowly coming to terms with the enormity of what happened. But once I\u2019m discharged in a few days, I can\u2019t wait to meet them in person and give them the biggest hug of thanks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, Ben and Amelia are both doing well after the ordeal. They showed incredible bravery in the water, and we couldn\u2019t be prouder of them. Ben only started swimming lessons last September in An Chuirt in Gweedore, and that gave him the calmness to hold on, it was the best thing he ever learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarie did an incredible job getting help. It couldn\u2019t have been easy on her, and as she said herself, \u201cit felt like her whole life was floating away in front of her\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot say enough about those four lads, they are true heroes. We owe them a debt of gratitude that will last a lifetime. As I\u2019ve said before, they were the right people, in the right place, at exactly the right time, and because of that, we are here today to tell this story.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir courage was nothing short of extraordinary. With Joe recognising the rip current and guiding everyone out and around, everything aligned to make the rescue possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Brian added that their heroic efforts will not gop unnoticed vowing \u201cI will do everything in my power to see that they receive every award for bravery and heroism, because they truly deserve it all.<\/p>\n

He also thanked everyone involved in the rescue.<\/p>\n

He added \u201cWe just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped us. A huge shout-out to the ambulance crew and paramedics, to Stephen McCole from the Coast Guard, the Rescue 118 crew, the doctor staying at the caravan site, and all the amazing people there who brought blankets, stayed with and comforted Ben and Amelia, and guided the ambulance crew down the beach. You were all incredible, you went above and beyond, and we\u2019ll never forget your kindness.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big thanks as well to the wonderful locals in Rosbeg. Special mention to Danny & Patsy for the local knowledge in directing the ambulance and helicopter to the beach, and to Patrick Harkin and his quad for getting the medics (and me) across the beach to the helicopter. Your support meant the world to us.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, to everyone who has sent messages of support to myself, Marie, and our families, a heartfelt thank you. We are so grateful. Just a few more days in here, and they\u2019ll have me back on my feet again. I\u2019ll be taking some time off work now to rest and recover and simply be with the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as for the heroes, they are just taking it all in their stride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got straight in and started paddling as I could see the two kids\u2019 heads a good bit out (from the shore),\u201d Maiti\u00fa said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time I got over to where the man was, my friend Dualta had gotten to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Maiti\u00fa\u2019s uncle, Joe, and friend, Turlough waited closer to the shore to assist with bringing the children and Brian back onto the beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur uncle was helping then, as was another woman and then there were loads of people surrounding the beach soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually a doctor came down from the caravan site, before the paramedics and air ambulance arrived to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maiti\u00fa 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was lucky, to be honest. There was nobody else in the water and the pull on that beach is pretty strong. It\u2019s fine when you have the surfboard with you but whenever you\u2019re swimming (it\u2019s difficult).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids were pretty good swimmers and they were treading water for a decent amount of time, but it\u2019s not easy (for anyone) to get out and back off of those waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councillor thanks heroic young life-savers after Donegal beach drama was last modified: August 21st, 2025 by Staff Writer<\/p>\n

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