Local Water Safety Lifesaver National Award Winners

Two local Blacklion Water Safety members, Darragh Flanagan and Donncha Maguire received Water Safety Ireland National awards in Dublin on Tuesday, November 14.

Darragh and Donnacha rescued a man who was face down in the water at Bundoran beach earlier this year. They were nominated by Donegal Water Safety for their awards. An account of their heroic deed was given at the awards ceremony.

It stated “in June this year Donnacha and Darragh were on the rocks at Bundoran beach when they heard a cry for help. They immediately assessed the situation, entered the water and swam towards the scene where they noticed a person was unresponsive.

“Using the cross-chest technique they successfully brought the casualty to safety where an off-duty nurse and a fireman performed CPR, while the emergency services arrived, he made a full recovery. Thank you Donnacha and Darragh.”

The National Water Safety awards ceremony was certainly a proud day for both Darragh and Donnacha as well as for their parents, families and all members of the local communities.

The Blacklion Water Safety programme has trained thousands of young people and adults in swimming and life saving skills for many decades.