Two Donegal Gardai have received bravery awards at a ceremony at Farmleigh House,Phoenix Park Dublin.
The two Gardai, James Conneely from Carrigart and Trevor Keating from Letterkenny, were recognised after they bravely rescued a man from the Garavogue River in Sligo in September, 2009.
The two brave Garda were among fifteen officers who were presented with bravery awards by Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett on behalf of the National Bravery Awards Council .
Ireland has no honour system but in 1945 the State decided they should recognise outstanding bravery and therefore since then awards have made annually.
The citation for James and Trevor read how an individual came to the attention of the Gardai in Sligo Town where he was wandering around in a confused and incoherent state.
Gardai observed the man making his way across a footbridge of the Garavogue River and jumping into the water.
The Gardai came to his assistance by throwing him a ring buoys that he made no effort to grab. The man was swifty swept down the river by the strong current and it was estimated that he would have been swept out to sea in minutes.
Garda Trevor Keating entered the river and attempted to rescue this person,but because of the strong current was unable to reach him.
Garda Keating got out of the river and made his way by foot along the river bank.Further down the river Garda James Conneely along with Rory O Connor, a trained Life Guard, entered the river in a small boat they had untied by the rivers edge.
With only one oar, Garda Conneely successfully rowed the boat to the middle of the river where he and O’Connor successfully intercepted the person, who was at this stage unconscious and face down in the water.
Mr O Connor applied CPR while Garda Conneely tried to row the boat to safety which was proving to be impossible due to the lack of a second oar and the ferocious current that was raging. At this stage, Garda Keating re entered the water and assisted in getting the boat ashore,where he too assisted with CPR.
The individual was taken by the emergency services where he made a full recovery. Garda Keating, Garda Conneely and Mr O Connor displayed exceptional courage in entering the water to save this person.
Both officers were awarded a bronze medal and a certificate of bravery.
Both Garda Conneely and Garda Keating were congratulated by the Commisioner Martin Callinan.
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