River rescue hero late for class

A STUDENT was hailed a hero yesterday after saving a woman’s life in a daring city centre river rescue.

Brian Murphy, 19, from Mallow, Co Cork, was on his way to Cork College of Commerce when he heard a man screaming for help just off the South Mall.

“I heard a man calling to grab a life buoy. I thought he was joking to be honest until I spotted a woman in the water,” Brian said.

“She was close enough to the side - within about five or six metres.”

Brian helped throw one of two life buoys to the woman. “She grabbed it and said she was finding it hard to breath,” he said.

As shocked office staff looked on from buildings on the Mall, Brian was joined by three or four onlookers who helped drag the woman to the quay-side.

“We went in over the railings and stood on the railway sleepers just inside,” he said.

“The tide was high so we were able to reach her. She didn’t say much - she was disorientated.”

Brian and the others managed to drag the woman onto the quay-side by the time gardaí and two fire brigade crews dressed in river rescue gear arrived on the scene.

The woman was comforted by gardaí and taken to the Mercy University Hospital.

Brian, who is studying health and safety at the college, gave a statement to gardaí and was late for his first class.