A man who saved a young boy from drowning on a Cork beach says there was a moment when he thought neither of them would survive.

Timmy O’Driscoll was enjoying the recent hot spell with his young family on Owenahincha Beach when he noticed the boy getting into difficulty.

On Moncrieff this afternoon, he said the lifeguard on duty had warned two children not to swim outside the flags – but as soon as his back was turned, they went back in.

Not long later, he saw one of them being pulled out by the tide.

“I saw him going under and I thought, God, he’s gone,” he said. “So, I got up off the sand and I ran.”

“I don’t know whatever came over me, I took off then. A family friend of theirs was kind of panicking and looking round to see if he could find the lifeguard. He goes, ‘can you go in after him? I can’t swim, I can’t swim.

“So, I dived in after him and swam out. He was going down as I was coming to him, and, at this stage, I couldn’t stand. Like, I’m 6’2” and I couldn’t stand where we were.

“He was a good bit out and I was exhausted by the time I got out to him. So, as he was going down, I grabbed him by the arm and as I grabbed him, he came back up, thank God.”

"I won't let you go"

Timmy said they were still in trouble, with the current pulling them out to sea.

“I said to him, look, I have you and I won’t let you go, but you need to kick your legs,” he said.

“I can’t do all the work. You need to give me a hand. You need to kick your legs otherwise we’re not going home. Otherwise, we’re going home in body bags.

“He goes I can’t; I can’t I’m exhausted. I said I know you’re exhausted; I am too. You need to kick your legs fairly fast.

File photo of Owenahincha Beach in West Cork on 21st July, 2021 Image: Antoinette Mason / Alamy Stock Photo

“So, he started kicking his legs and then, as I was swimming, I looked behind. There was a wave coming in and I said, here’s my chance.

“So, I picked him up - I don’t know where I got the strength from - and I threw him against the wave and the wave brought him in a good bit.

“I swam in after him the and he was going down again so I picked him up under his arms and at that point, I could stand. I felt the bottom and I went, thank God; thank God, I can feel the bottom."

"I didn't think twice"

He said it was only later that evening that it all hit him.

“I was thinking then in my own head, what did you do that for?” he said. “It was just a blind action: I just took off. I didn’t think twice of doing it at the time.”

Funeral

The boy’s family have since got in contact to thank him for saving their son.

“The family friend, the fella that couldn’t swim - he was about 30-odd I’d say - he goes thanks a million for that boy. If it wasn’t for you, we’d be arranging a funeral tomorrow.

Timmy said he found out later that the boy is due to start first year in school in September.

He said he does not want to be called a hero.

“Any parent would do it,” he said. “I would do it for my own kids in a heartbeat. I just did what I had to do.”

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