'Claddagh royalty': Galway fishermen who rescued paddleboarders honoured

Patrick Oliver with his son Morgan have been honoured at a mayoral reception. Picture: Ray Ryan

The two Galway fishermen who rescued two paddleboarders in August have been honoured at a mayoral reception.

Mayor of Galway Mike Cubbard described Patrick Oliver and his son Morgan as “Claddagh royalty” when he presented them with a framed presentation scroll and a bronze model of a traditional Irish currach.

The presentation at a tightly controlled event in Salthill’s Leisureland was in honour of their achievements in saving the lives of Galway cousins Sara Feeney, 23, and Ellen Glynn, 17, in August.

Mr Cubbard said that "the rescue highlights the fantastic community spirit which exists in Galway as hundreds of people across the city and county offered their help with the search operation".

The cousins who were also recognised for their bravery survived 15 hours at sea after they were swept across the bay and towards the Atlantic in mid-August.

They were blown by a 20-knot wind some 17 nautical miles out to sea while paddleboarding in Galway Bay.

Wearing only bikinis and with buoyancy aids on their paddleboards, Ellen told the Irish Examiner in August how they passed the seemingly endless hours in the darkness waiting for rescuers.  

"We would each talk about what we’d do when we get home" she Ellen said.

“So I would say I was really looking forward to a hot shower and getting into comfy pyjamas.

Sara Feeney, Patrick and Morgan Oliver, host Ryan Tubridy and Ellen Glynn ahead of appearance on The Late Late Show last month. Picture: Andres Poveda

“Then it began lashing rain and it was freezing cold and we lay down on the boards, which we had strapped together early on, and we saw shooting stars which were really amazing,” she said.

“What I would really like to do is to thank the hundreds of people who came out on boats, planes, in helicopters, on foot, and said prayers and lit candles and raised the alarm on social media."

Ellen said that both a helicopter and a vessel were close enough to light up the sea around them.

"There was lightning and heavy rain, and the waves became bigger and the pair were “shivering uncontrollably”, she said.

"When sun rose, visibility was poor — but as the fog lifted, they realised just how far they had been swept, with the Cliffs of Mother just south of them, the Aran island of Inis Oírr to the north, and the Atlantic to the west.

“I had thought we were being carried into Galway, but we were being swept in the opposite direction,” Ellen said.

When Patrick and Morgan located them on their Johnny O vessel at around midday, some two to three nautical miles south-west of Inis Oírr, Ellen said they told the two men that they thought “no one was looking" for them.

The Olivers, who have already been awarded the Afloat.ie National Seamanship Trophy for their efforts, recorded another rescue when they pulled a man from the river Corrib last month.