Shy Shay shrugs off ‘heroism’ tag after receiving award for river rescue

A teenager who saved two friends from drowning has been hailed a hero.

Shay Crowley, aged 14, from Ballincollig, Co Cork, was honoured over the weekend for his bravery during the daring river rescue last summer.

A video of the presentation, which was made on the pitch after he played a match for Ballincollig rugby club’s under-16s and which was posted on social media, has gone viral, notching up over 60,000 views as of last night, attracting messages of congratulations from rugby fans in Tokyo.

Shay played down his role in the rescue, but rugby club president Jim Nyhan instisted he’s a real hero.

“He demonstrated real courage and bravery and we wanted to recognise and honour that,” said Mr Nyhan.

The drama occurred during fine weather last July when Shay and a group of friends were playing with a football in the river Lee near the broken weir in Ballincollg’s Regional Park. Two pals, a teenage boy and a girl, both aged 14 and who couldn’t swim, got into difficulty when they found themselves out of their depth.

Shay said: “They started shouting that they were drowning but people thought they were messing at first.”

Shay Crowley from Ballincollig who rescued two people from the water at weir on the River Lee at the Regional park, Ballcollig and was honoured by his club Ballincollig RFC Picture: Eddie O'Hare

As they thrashed the water, Shay was pushed underwater.

“I was underwater for about 20 or 30 seconds and I couldn’t breathe and I thought that I was going to drown,” he said.

But he stayed calm and pushed the boy away from him and caught his breath.

He then showed incredible strength by grabbing the girl and throwing her to safety on the riverbank.

As the other boy was being swept downstream, Shay ran out onto the river bank and called for help.

“I told people that they were drowning but people didn’t seem to believe what was going on. They froze,” he said. “I then grabbed a lifebuoy from nearby and ran back out onto the weir and threw it from a height towards the boy.”

An adult who had seen the drama unfold had already entered the water to help the stricken teenager and they used the lifebuoy to get to safety. He had swallowed a significant amount of water and was in extreme distress.

Shay Crowley from Ballincollig who rescued two people from the water at weir on the River Lee at the Regional park, Ballcollig and was honoured by his club Ballincollig RFC , pictured with his family, parents Barry and Jennifer Crowley, grandmothers Betty Cullinane (left) and Joan Crowley and cousins Tom, Billy and James Mehigan Picture: Eddie O'Hare

An ambulance was called and all three were taken to Cork University Hospital.

Shay was discharged a short time later but the boy he saved was kept in overnight for observation.

Shay’s parents, Barry and Jennifer, said they were extremely proud of their son.

“This could have been so much worse. We could have lost three teenagers that day,” Jennifer said.

Barry said he was “spoiled rotten” by relatives for a weeks afterwards.

Shay, who is a second-year student at Coláiste Choilm, learned to swim in the town’s Oriel House Hotel but never took life-saving courses. “I just love swimming,” he said.