Woman describes 'absolute privilege' of rescuing two people from West Cork rip tide

Carol Sheeran has called for greater education about how to survive a rip current

Red Strand where Carol Sheeran rescued two people from drowning on Sunday. File picture: Dan Linehan

Two people were saved from drowning in rough seas off a popular West Cork beach by a local woman on Sunday.

Carol Sheeran was swimming at Red Strand on Sunday after 5pm when she saw two people far out to sea and heard them shout for help. 

Ms Sheeran—who is from the area and knows the local currents —said that it was “a stroke of luck” that she was there at that time. No one else had noticed the man and woman’s heads bobbing just above the heavy waves as they were silently pulled out to sea.

She has called for greater education about how to survive a rip current: never swim against it; turn onto your back and let it take you out until it dissipates; and swim parallel to the shore to escape it.

“The tide was far out and it was quite wavy,” Ms Sheeran said. “I was coming out of the water and I looked over and noticed two people were far out. I shouted out ‘Are you ok?’ I took out my earplugs and heard ‘help!’ 

“They were just keeping themselves above water. They were very much in trouble," Ms Sheeran said after she noticed the people while she too was out swimming.

Carol Sheeran was swimming at Red Strand on Sunday after 5pm when she saw two people far out to sea and heard them shout for help. 

“I swam in, ran up the beach, shouting for help and shaking my arms. A woman came running towards me with a life buoy. I said ‘get that kayak into the water, there are two people drowning. And call the emergency services.’ 

“As I was going back into the sea, the water was fairly rough. I was very conscious of the rule ‘do not go in, throw a buoy from the shore'. But there was no other way to get the buoy to them, they were too far off. 

"You can’t stand on a beach and watch two people drown.

“They were two lovely people, I knew all I could do was get the buoy to them. They were just keeping themselves above water. I said ‘hold onto the buoy, you’re going to be ok.’ It was very rough, the waves were crashing over their heads.

“I thought ‘these people may drown in front of me. I was doing my best to swim across and get out of the current. There was not much support from the beach. They were trying to get a kayak into the water but it kept being blown back onto the beach.

“One woman had the wherewithal to get two extra buoys on the beach and ran down and they started trying to make a human chain to get out. I can only imagine the trauma they [the couple who almost drowned] went through out there thinking they were goners.

“The local coastguard arrived as we were coming out of the water. They wrapped them in their hypothermia blankets and SouthDoc came to look at them.” 

Ms Sheeran said that no one else saw the people in difficulty yesterday. “People did not know it was happening. The sea was rough. You would not have seen those people disappear, they’d just be gone and would not have come home."

The couple, who live in West Cork, told Ms Sheeran that yesterday was their first swim of the season. File picture: Denis Minihane

“They were out of sight, the waves were crashing, it’s very hard to see two heads bobbing unless you’re looking for them. Other people had been out for a swim and had not seen them. I’m very conscious of the sea and I’m always looking out for people in trouble.

“It’s an absolute privilege to be able to save two people’s lives. I feel very lucky to be able to do that. It’s a good news story compared to what happened in other parts of the country this weekend. I know one poor woman lost her life near Ballycotton yesterday.” 

The couple, who live in West Cork, told Ms Sheeran that yesterday was their first swim of the season. Ms Sheeran believes they got caught in a rip current. Spreading information about how to survive a rip current is vital and saves lives, she said.

“About three years ago I got caught in a rip current. At the time there was a big campaign on the radio about drownings. It said that most people drown because they’re fighting a current. 

"So turn onto your back and let the current take you out. Most people don’t understand that if you get in a current like that it will dissipate. Don’t swim in, swim parallel to the shore. We need a campaign like that on our radios and on our TVs." 

"You don’t need to be a serious swimmer to turn onto your back and feel safe in the water. I knew that a few years ago when it happened to me, those people did not know that. I’d say they went out for a little dip, got pulled out and couldn’t get in.” 

Ms Sheeran said that public education about how to help from the beach when you see someone drowning is also needed. “Nobody really knew what to do. There could be water safety information for people on the beach, like how to make a human chain. They’re simple things people could learn.” 

Ms Sheeran started sea swimming seriously after the death of her mother Olive. “My mum nearly drowned as a child, so growing up, we all learned how to swim. She loved the water but only ever went in up to her knees. 

"So when she died, I thought ‘I’m going to do something to honour my mother. I’m going to do some real swimming.’ I set a goal to do the Baltimore to Sherkin swim. I took some lessons. I thought yesterday, 'only for my mum I would not have been such a strong swimmer and may not have been able to go in after those people.'”