Mayo people honoured at National Bravery Awards

TWENTY-TWO National Bravery Awards have been presented to individuals from across Ireland, including Mayo, who risked their own lives to aid others in peril.

The awards were presented by the Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy, at a ceremony in Leinster House, where she told guests: “We don’t all find ourselves standing with someone in the water, or holding onto them on a cliff edge, as some of our recipients have done. But every day we each have a chance to make a difference, by listening, supporting or just being there for someone when they need us.

“What you have done has made the world feel a little less dark, a little less dangerous and gives hope to us all for the road ahead.”

Jonathan Monroe and Garda Aiden McTigue, both Mayo, received awards for separate water rescues in Galway city, while Pat Cannon from Donegal was hailed for the rescue of a crewmate from the sea off the Mayo coast.

At lunch time, on Friday, July 15, 2022, Jonathan Monroe was walking near the Eglinton Canal in Galway City when he heard noises and splashing coming from the canal and saw a distressed man deep in the water. The man, who was mostly submerged, was going under, with only his head visible above the water. Without hesitation, Jonathan stripped off his clothing and dived into the canal in an attempt to rescue him.

Jonathan swam out to the man, who was now face down underwater and tried to turn him over to get his face up out of the canal. Although struggling to get the man turned onto his back, Jonathan managed to pull the man into a position where his head was out of the water and then swam with him towards the bank of the canal.

Other passersby had called for the Emergency Services to attend and another man on the canal bank assisted Jonathan to remove the male from the water. When they got him ashore, he was distressed but conscious and was attended to before being taken away to receive further treatment.

For his actions, Johnathan was awarded a Bronze medal and a Certificate of Bravery.

Garda Aiden McTigue (Mayo) and Inspector Brendan O’Grady (Galway) were honourd for their role in the rescue of a man from the River Corrib in Galway city.

At about 1.50 p.m. on July 27, 2020, a member of the public ran in to Mill Street Garda Station to report a man lying on a ledge beside the River Corrib. The Corrib is notorious for having extremely strong currents and so Garda McTigue and Inspector O'Grady ran from the station to assist. They located the man near O’Brien’s Bridge and Garda McTigue tried to speak to him, but as he moved closer, the man deliberately rolled over into the water and was immediately caught up in the strong current.

Without hesitation, Garda McTigue jumped in and swam towards the man, grabbing hold of him before pulling him towards the riverbank. Having retrieved a lifebuoy, Inspector O'Grady ran to assist, and they both held onto the man at the water’s edge, waiting for assistance from the fire brigade, who were en route.

However, the man lunged and grabbed both gardaí, pulling them into the water and all three were dragged down river. Despite the swirling rapids they held on tight to the man, and although he continued to struggle with them in the water, they managed to placate him and get him back to the riverbank.

The man was taken from the water and brought to University Hospital Galway by ambulance, for medical assessment.

For their actions, Garda McTigue and Inspector O’Grady were each awarded a Bronze medal and a Certificate of Bravery.

Pat Cannon from Donegal was awarded following the rescue of a crewmate from the sea off the Mayo coast.

On a cold October night in 1988 the crew of the MV Rosses Morn were fishing some miles off the Mayo coast, near the Stags rocks. They noticed the wind change and increase in speed and decided to head for shelter. As they were hauling in the nets, a bobbin snapped and struck a crew member, Flor Nolan, on the back of the head, knocking him across the boat and into the rough sea.

Despite not being able to swim, the skipper, Pat Cannon, who was steering the boat, realised that his shipmate would be lost if he did not act. Grabbing a rope, he jumped into the dark sea and grabbed hold of Flor. As they were both wearing oilskins and boots, they were being dragged under by the weight and the growing swell.

The other two crew on board hauled the men towards the boat and somehow managed to get Flor back on board. However, they could not get Pat out of the water, and he lost his grip on the rope.

Struggling against the rough seas and weighed down by his boots and boiler suit, Pat managed to wrap the chain of the trawl door around his arm and hold on. The wind and waves pushed him under several times as he was dragged along the stern and the motion of the boat meant it was impossible to pull him out.

Eventually the boat took a roll, and Pat came up long enough that the crew could grab his feet and pull him aboard. He was blue with the cold and some of the crew thought he was dead. The crewman he had rescued, Flor Nolan, noted that Pat Cannon could not swim when he jumped into the sea to save him. In the same statement he wrote that he owes his life to Pat Cannon.

For his actions, Pat Cannon was awarded a Silver medal and a certificate of Bravery.