A Cork teenager who “always wanted to be a fireman or a guard” received the State’s highest bravery award on Friday for saving a friend from drowning and attempting to save the life of a second boy from strong currents.
David Akar from Togher in Cork city was just one month short of his 14th birthday when he went swimming from pontoons at Mariners Quay, Passage West, in August last year.
Having seen two friends who jumped from the pontoon getting caught in very strong currents, he dived in and pulled one friend to safety but was unable to hold on to the second teenager, Jack O’Sullivan.
On Friday, as he was honoured with a citation and gold medal at the National Bravery Awards, David asked people to remember his friend Jack.
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Speaking to The Irish Times after the awards ceremony held at Farmleigh in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, David, who is now 15 years old, said he still hoped to be either a garda or a fireman.
He recalled that on the day his friends had gone swimming, he was nominated to try to help the two boys who got into difficulty as he had some lifeguard training. “My first reaction was to help them so I dived into the water straight away and first I helped one of the other lads. I put him over my right shoulder and brought him towards the pontoon,” he said.
“I swam back over to Jack. I tried many different saving positions for Jack. But the undercurrent was very strong. We were just getting spun in a ball and thrown.”
David said he managed to get Jack over his right shoulder at one point. “He let out a giggle of relief. I left out a small bit of relief myself. The current was so strong that we were trying to just go at the same speed towards the pontoon but we were getting further and further away not closer.”
David pulled Jack to the pontoon but his friend then sank below the water. After diving back in for him, David said, “I was trying to grab him and touch him to see if he was there but I was only grabbing green moss.”
He described Jack as a fantastic athlete and a funny character who uplifted all of his friends. “He was a great helper if you were ever stuck for anything. He would always motivate you if you had a match and you weren’t in the mood or you were injured. It is bittersweet this award.”
David’s mother Pamela Creegan said: “As much as we are honoured today for David to be receiving the Gold Medal bravery award, our thoughts today will be with Jack and his family. The impact of losing your son, brother and nephew ... There are no words.”
Some 150 people who attended the annual National Bravery Awards rose for a standing ovation as David received his certificate and gold medal from the outgoing Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl.
Mr Ó Fearghaíl paid a glowing tribute to David and to a further 22 recipients of bravery awards – seven certificates, 11 bronze medals and four silver medals – saying they had put their lives at risk to save others.
Among the recipients were a number of gardaí including retired detective sergeant Cyril Meehan, who received two separate awards.
Mr Meehan received his awards for disarming a man who was attempted to harm himself or others with a knife and for disarming a man who had poured petrol over himself and was attempting to get a cigarette lighter to work. This was Mr Meehan’s third citation for bravery, having received his first award in 2001.
Garda Sarah Lynam received a silver medal for the rescue of a man from the river Liffey last August, while Mark Kelly and Pat Weymes were awarded silver and bronze for the rescue of a child from a burning house in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, last November. The full list of awardees is available at bravery.ie.
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