13-year-old girl commended for bravery after raising alarm when trio swept out to sea in Baltimore

A 13-year-old girl who saw her father, brother, and her brother’s girlfriend swept out to sea was last night honoured for her courage in the wake of the triple tragedy.

She was joined by several other young people in the West Cork area who showed resilience and selflessness beyond their tender years to aid their communities.

Charlotte Davis-Ryan lost father Barry Ryan, and brother Barry Davis-Ryan when a swell developed in Baltimore, Co Cork, and washed her brother and his girlfriend Niamh O’Connor, into the sea on June 30.

They had been fishing off the rocks when Charlotte’s brother and his girlfriend were swept away. Her father went into the water to rescue them, leaving his then 12-year-old daughter on her own in the middle of a serious and personally traumatic emergency.

Nevertheless, she had the presence of mind to climb back up the rocks and alert emergency services.

The bodies of Niamh and Barry Sr were quickly recovered, but her brother’s body was not recovered until 10 days later.

During this time, Charlotte was an outstanding support to her mother and showed tremendous bravery in returning to the scene, eventually helping to guide the search teams to her brother’s body.

Charlotte was one of a number of youngsters honoured last night at the 20th West Cork Garda Division’s Youth Achievement Awards — the longest-running in the country. They acknowledge the bravery, selflessness, and charity of their age group.

The Garda citation for Charlotte, read out at the awards’ ceremony, said she “displayed enormous courage to set aside her own emotions in order to assist in the recovery of her brother’s body, and her courage in the face of adversity was remarkable”.

Many others were honoured at the ceremony, which was funded by SuperValu, and of which the Irish Examiner was media sponsors.

They included Conor Coughlan, 13, from Station Steps, Ballinhassig, who when just five was diagnosed with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, which affects his bone structure.

To date, he has undergone 27 operations, including on a clubbed foot, both hips, and his spine, which is being lengthened by the insertion of growing rods.

Despite these challenges, Conor has been involved in a variety of sporting activities, including cycling, swimming, athletics, and hurling with his local GAA club.

Another who faced adversity was Sean Murphy, 18, from Skeagh, Skibbereen.

Despite being born 12 weeks prematurely, undergoing a heart operation at just 16 days old, and being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, he has has never let these issues hold him back.

Sean has been involved with Ilen Rovers club from an early age and was part of their squad up to 2013. He is also a valued member of Aughadown Foróige and willingly gives of his time to others.

He played a key role in the care of his late grandmother when she suffered ill health, and when she passed. Sean also raised funds for Enable Ireland, Cope Foundation, and local charities.

Some young people get a bad press, gardaí say, but there are many who do not get the credit they deserve because they are under the radar doing things for others and the awards ceremony is to acknowledge them.

See Monday’s Irish Examiner and the ‘County’ supplement on Tuesday for more details.