'I talked to my son about the Champions League as we clung on waiting to be rescued'

A father who was swept out to sea with his son after being caught in a rip current has told Sarah Horgan how the pair clung on in the freezing water in Fountainstown for an hour before being saved

(Left to right) Harry Pritchard, Medical Adviser RNLI, Dr John Murphy, RNLI crew member Gary Heslin, Ciara O'Donovan. Lifeboat helm, Paddy Quinlan, Kate Horgan, Cillian Foster, Jamie Venner,  Damien O'Donovan and Muruthi O'Donovan when they visited the lifeboat station in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, on Thursday. Picture: David Creedon

"I talked to him about the Champions League soccer game that night, about who would win, just to distract him, and keep him holding on."

A father who was swept out to sea with his son after being caught in a rip current has told how the pair clung on in the freezing water in Fountainstown for an hour before being saved.