'Selfless and heroic' - Gardaí brave freezing cold sea at 3am to save young man

A team of Gardaí have been praised as heroes after entering the sea in the middle of the night to save a young man. 

Officers in Buncrana, Co Donegal received a call shortly after 3am on Sunday, September 17 from a young woman who explained her friend had entered the water at Shore Front, a cove just outside the town. 

Garda Keith Conlon, Garda Deirdre Connolly and Student Garda Tara McGrory raced to the beach, where they were met by a number of young people who were "extremely frantic" as they could not see their friend in the water. 

Garda Conlon and Garda Connolly reportedly entered the water "despite the night’s darkness, freezing cold water and entirely unknowing the water’s depths", while Student Garda McGrory held back on the shoreline to shine her torch in their direction. 

Together, they managed to locate the young man quite some distance in and got him safely back to land where Garda colleagues and a unit from Donegal Fire Service had arrived on the scene to assist. 
 
The young man was medically assessed and brought to Letterkenny University Hospital for treatment. 

Gardaí posted about the incident on their official X page (formerly Twitter) and confirmed the young man is recovering well. 

They stated, "We look forward to him being back in full health very soon. 

"Gardaí nationwide know that it takes bravery and quick-thinking to save a life but more than that, it takes team-work. Garda Keith Conlon, Garda Deirdre Connolly and Student Garda Tara McGrory are the ultimate team." 

Dozens of respondents praised the "selfless and heroic actions" of the Gardaí who came to the young man's rescue, with one person stating, "Ireland is fortunate to have these exceptional public servants". 

Another said, "What a wonderful story of bravery with a positive outcome. Sending a heartfelt thank you for your service."