Ian pictured in his hospital bed surrounded by friends
SLANEY SEARCH and Rescue haswarned against the perils of diving into Enniscorthy town’s river after a 20-year-old received 50 stitches in his head, from cracking it open upon a rock when resurfacing from his jump.
Ian Sinnott, of Gimont Avenue, was recently enjoying the incredible weather by gathering with friends at a local makeshift diving board along the banks of the river Slaney.
Mr. Sinnott told The Echo that he followed his usual procedure at the popular diving spot by removing his shoes and jumping into the cooling waters.
However, upon re-emerging from the water, the talented soccer player for Shamrock Rovers burst his head upon a rock, causing him so much damage that his skull was visible.
He did not realise the extent of his injury until he felt the level of blood running down his face: “My friends threw a towel on top of my head to try and stop the blood flowing, and then my Mam came to collect me to bring me to hospital,” he explained.
Ian’s injuries as they have progressed
Once there, Mr. Sinnott was told by doctors that he was extremely lucky, and that if he had panicked in the water he could have come into some considerable difficulty. Though only hospitalised for 24 hours, he was operated on within this time, receiving 50 stitches across the top of his head. The Enniscorthy man said he had initially feared he would be unable to play his beloved soccer for a few months, due to being unable to head the ball, but he was relieved to discover he would only have to wait ten days.
Harry O’Connor of Slaney Search and Rescue has urged all young people to take more care when swimming in the river in the wake of the incident.
He strongly warned against diving into the water, and advised to instead simply walk in, and urged people to swim along the Promenade rather than a less public place.
“Never jump in, that’s the most important point,” he said. “You never know what is at the bottom of the river. That’s another thing, everyone seems to be swimming barefoot – you must wear runners of protective foot wear, there’s glass, fish hooks, all sorts at the bottom of the river.”
He said that people are unaware of the dangers of swimming in rivers, which they may liken to a swimming pool, but that aspects such as currents, tides and unknown objects strewn at the bottom require more care to be taken.
[For full report, see this week’s Echo]