Hero Tony Stack: ‘It could have been a tragedy if I did nothing’

A man who rescued four children from a sandbank amidst a fast-rising tide in Co Kerry last summer was among 36 people to receive bravery awards in Dublin Castle yesterday.

“I reckon it could have turned into a huge tragedy if I had done nothing. The children would have been carried away — gone with the tide. The currents there are very, very strong” said Tony Stack, who lives nearby and knew the children were in danger.

The siblings, aged between four and 14, had been playing last July at Barrow Strand and had not noticed the tide had begun to rise to a point where they would not have been able to stand if they had tried to cross the water.