A GARDA from the New Ross area is being hailed a hero after dramatically rescuing a man from the estuary in Dungarvan.
Remarkably, it was the second such incident involving the same Garda within the space of 10 days.
Gda. David Hearne, who is from Fethard-on-Sea, is stationed in Waterford Garda Station and is a member of the local Traffic Corps.
However, last week a routine night on patrol changed dramatically when Gda. Hearne, according to himself, happened to “be in the right place at the right time”.
He and his Sergeant had gone to Dungarvan and called into the local station there when an emergency call came in that a man was in difficulty in Colligan River leading into the bay.
The two Waterford based Gardai decided to accompany their local colleagues to the scene to see if they could help.
Speaking to The Echo, Gda. Hearne outlined what happened next.
“We’d often be in Dungarvan on patrol anyway but on Monday evening we were in the local station there when the call came in,” he said.
“A man was in the river at the estuary so we decided to go down with our local colleagues,” he added.
Gda. Hearne said that when he got down to the waterfront he could see man with his head barely above the water.
“There were a lot of people shouting and I could see he was beyond throwing anything out to him,” he said.
“The tide was almost fully in at the time and no-one else was going out to him so I knew he didn’t have much time,” he added.
The Garda then removed his stab vest and shoes and took to the water but not before a lady handed him a lifebuoy – which ultimately proved invaluable.
“He had completely submerged two or three times by the time I reached him and it took about two minutes to get to him,” said Gda. Hearne.
The man was almost unconscious when the Garda reached him but thankfully he did and began to bring him back to shore.
The local Fire Service threw a line out to help Gda. Hearne bring the casualty back the final distance to safety.
Gda. Hearne is an active member of Hook Sub Aqua Club and was a member of the Garda Underwater Unit for nine years so his career within the force has been spent as much in the water as out of it and that expertise certainly played its part in the heroic events that unfolded in Dungarvan.
However, just a few days earlier the Garda was involved in a similar rescue in Waterford City.
On that occasion Gda. Hearne jumped into the river Suir and rescued a middle-aged man who had entered the water and was seen floating on his back.
Remarkably, Gda. Hearne has been involved in five similar rescue incidents since 2003 risking his own life to save others.
He was involved in two rescues in the river Suir in 2003 and 2008 and received the Michael Heffernan Medal for Gallantry in respect of two other rescues – which occurred in Waterford on the same day.
In those incidents, on April 21, 2007, Gda. Hearne pulled people from the river Suir near Merchant’s Quay and from John’s River at Poleberry. On both occasions he calmly returned to his station, changed his uniform, and resumed work.
With regard to last week’s heroics the down-to-earth Garda said it was all in the line of duty: “I am proud of the uniform and I am pleased to be able to help people like this and to prevent a possible tragedy from occurring.”
(For the full story see this week’s print edition of the New Ross Echo)
