Swift RNLI action saved sailor and kept family intact

Eoin Corkery lost his left hand and could easily have lost his life but for a series of speedy responses from those involved in his rescue on the evening of June 9, 2012.

He was heading back to his mooring in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, when his rib struck something in the water and he was thrown back from the wheel. He fell overboard as the boat went into a turn.

“I felt like I was in a dream because, as the life jacket inflated, I looked at my left hand and it was gone,” said Eoin. “Then I looked at the boat and it was going in circles. I thought to myself ‘get back in the boat’, and I swam towards it and grabbed at the lifelines, but I was using my left arm and there was nothing to grab with.”