Damien Dempsey among honoured rescuers

Singer-turned-hero Damien Dempsey didn’t make a song and dance yesterday about the summer day he saved a swimmer’s life. The Dublin native waded into the River Slaney in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, and helped pluck a drowning man to safety.

Having just finished a sound check before performing in June he spotted a youngster leaping from a bridge. Dempsey saw the youth was in trouble and grabbed a sheet from a van and waded into the river.

“I do a lot of sea swimming and have a good few friends who are lifeguards who say the last thing you ever do is dive into the water if you can help it,” he said. “You need a connection with the land.”