A 17-year-old Leaving Cert student has told of how he assisted in the rescue of a woman who got into difficulty while swimming in the sea off Greystones, Co Wicklow on Wednesday.
Conor Power, who is from Roundwood, had been on Greystones beach with the intention of completing a physical education project, but conditions were too rough so it was cancelled by his teacher.
Instead he went for an ice-cream and was walking on the beach with a friend when he noticed a person who seemed to be in trouble in the water. A worker on a nearby building site said the person had been in difficulty for 20 minutes.
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The teen, who is a member of the Poseidon Lifesaving Group in Greystones, told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne show, that before he got into the water (with a buoyancy aid) he made sure the Coast Guard had been informed.
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He swam out to the swimmer and encouraged her to swim towards him away from rocks. The woman was “out of energy” at that stage, he said. Recognising that he was flagging he gave the torpedo buoy to the woman and swam back to the beach.
By that stage gardaí had arrived and put him in the squad car to heat up, but his body heat had dropped swiftly after the adrenaline rush passed, he explained. An ambulance was called and brought him to St Vincent’s hospital where he warmed up after half an hour. While there, the swimmer approached him and thanked him for his efforts.
Mr Power added that as part of the training at the life saving club, they are taught to recognise their limitations. As an asthmatic, after some minutes he knew his chest was going to “give in” if he kept going. “I knew my muscles would give in.”
Giving the swimmer the buoy, then getting out of the water himself meant that the Coast Guard would not have to deal with two casualties, he said.
John Doyle of Poseidon Lifesaving Group, who is also a member of the Greystones Coast Guard voluntary group, said he was “most proud” of the fact that Conor had recognised his limitations and did what he could. “Fifty per cent of people who drown went in to help someone else.”
Mr Doyle said he knew that Mr Power had a very high level of competence in life saving. “I knew he wouldn’t take undue risks.”
Mr Doyle also said he was not an advocate of winter sea swimming as muscles can get tired faster and lead to loss of control in the cold water.