Real heroes and worthless celebrities

I FEEL compelled to pay tribute to the two brave young men who lost their lives after saving two others from drowning at Owenahincha, Co Cork, recently.

I was not acquainted with either man, but their selfless courage was simply heroic.

Contrast their bravery with our society’s apparent obsession with so-called reality TV celebrity where untalented, fame-mad individuals crave publicity and attention while the perpetrators of truly heroic deeds seldom get the credit they deserve or disappear from public consciousness far too easily.

I also salute the medical and search and rescue personnel who get on with their work so professionally without self-glorification or the addiction to self-serving publicity.

While the deaths of Jonathan Herlihy and Peter O’Keeffe came as a great shock to everyone, their lives had more meaning and substance than the plethora of self-serving A-Z list celebrities who, by and large, are truly forgettable.

Wayne Costello

96 Old Court

Greenfields

Ballincollig

Cork