Cork heroes including teenagers, surfers and gardaí to be honored for their bravery

The annual awards are presented by the Comhairle na Míre Gaile, the Council for Bravery, which was founded in 1947 to provide government recognition for exceptional acts of bravery.

This year’s winners are Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Waterford, Westmeath and Wexford.

David Acar

Among them is 15-year-old David Acar from Cork. On August 24 last year a group of young people were swimming off the mooring pontoons at Mariners Quay in Western Passage when some of them became caught in a very strong current.

David tried to help his friends and pushed one boy back to the safety of the pontoons before trying to help another friend who was struggling heavily.

Despite the strength of the current, David swam back to his friend and tried to pull, push and pull him back to safety, but when the other boy tired and began to panic, they both drowned and David lost his grip. .

Although David had some lifeguard training, he was barely 14 years old and was unable to pull his friend out against the strong current. However, he managed to grab him again and pull him towards the small boat, but the current took over again and David lost his grip on his friend.

David swam to the boat and climbed into it, calling out to his other friends for help. When David couldn’t see his friend in the water, he repeatedly dived underwater in an attempt to find him, but unfortunately was unable to do so. Despite David’s tireless efforts, the boy, also just 14, died.

For his actions that day, he was awarded a gold medal and a certificate of valor.

Aaron O’Callaghan and Carlos Amaya

When a father and his two teenage children were hit by a wave on March 17, 2024, Aaron O’Callaghan and Carlos Amaya came to their aid.

Aaron was surfing Garrettstown Beach on a day with good waves and big swells when he heard screams from the edge of the beach. In the water, caught in a strong tide, were a man and his two children, barely able to stay afloat.

As Aaron paddled towards them, Carlos had just finished giving a surfing lesson when he heard screams and dove into the water with his board. As Aaron navigated the current, he managed to grab the group and keep them afloat with his board.

Because they were tired and cold, by the time Carlos reached the scene, they were struggling desperately. Aaron then took his father on his surfboard and Carlos on his. Both Carlos and Aaron then swam side by side, bringing the family safely to shore through the rough seas.

The Gardaí report noted that if the two men had not reacted as they did, an “unthinkable tragedy” could have occurred.

Walter Murphy, Oleg Korochuk, Vyacheslav Koronchuk

The driver of a car on the busy South Circular Road in Cork suffered a cardiac arrest at around 11.30am on Wednesday 3 January. While the man was unconscious in his seat, the car began to swerve on the road. His passenger, Walter Murphy, attempted to take control of the car, but the driver’s foot remained on the gas pedal and the car continued to move.

Several cars passed, including the car of brothers Oleg and Vyacheslav Koronchuk, who noticed that the driver had fallen behind the wheel and decided to intervene. Realizing the danger, they stopped their car in front of the out-of-control car and began to slow down, allowing the other car to crash into their own as they slowly braked.

With the car out of control, Walter Murphy attempted to turn the car to prevent the Koronchuk brothers’ car from running off the edge of the road or into traffic. With heavy traffic flowing, the risk of a catastrophic collision was averted as the three men worked together to force the car to slow and finally stop.

Unfortunately, the driver was later pronounced dead, but police said the actions of the three men undoubtedly prevented a serious accident on this busy road.

Garda Joseph O’Reilly and Garda Denis Cronin

These gardaí were on patrol in the early hours of 14 April 2021 when they spotted a fire in a derelict part of a semi-detached house in Knocknaheeny in Cork.

They alerted firefighters and began evacuating nearby residents. It became apparent that the adjoining portion of the house was occupied by an elderly man, and with the roof on fire and the fire spreading, two officers made the decision to attempt to force the door open.

Together they broke down the door and entered the building, which was now filling with smoke. They managed to get to the bedroom of an elderly man who woke up to the sound of a door slamming.

As the fire raged in a nearby building, it spread to the roof and burned the common wall between the two buildings, which was in danger of collapsing. Despite the smoke and heat from the fire, Joseph and Denis safely evacuated the man from the building and brought him to safety before several fire brigade units arrived to bring the fire under control.

“These moments matter”

The awards are to be presented to Cynn Comhairle by Seán Ó Feargaill at an event at Farmleigh House later on Friday.

“This November day in Farmleigh is a day when we honor the people who have made the world a little less dark, a little less dangerous and whose actions reflect the best and noblest of impulses,” he said.

“This exceptional day commemorates the moments when our brave recipients abandoned self-preservation, risking their lives to help someone else.

“These moments matter because in many cases lives were saved that would have been lost. They matter because even when people died, in some of the terrible tragedies we remember today, these people were not alone.

“They would know, and their families would know, that someone was with them, someone bravely and desperately trying to save them, to bring them home.”