Opinion

Buncrana pier tragedy: One hero saved a life, another gave his own

Family and friends comfort each other at the pier in Buncrana where five people lost their lives
Family and friends comfort each other at the pier in Buncrana where five people lost their lives Family and friends comfort each other at the pier in Buncrana where five people lost their lives

I had started writing this column about the security situation in the run up to Easter, but I can't get that heartbreaking interview with Kerrykeel hero Davitt Walsh out of my head.

People get called heroes for all manner of reasons and accolades are handed out all too often for mediocre acts, but Davitt is a man worthy of the title and then some.

Louise James lost her partner, mother, sister and two adorable sons in the tragic accident that unfolded in Buncrana on Sunday evening.

None of us can say we know how she feels and instead only wonder how she'll ever cope with the days, months and lonely years ahead.

I was working on Sunday evening doing the late shift, it was looking to be a quiet enough night's work when news started filtering through of a terrible tragedy unfolding in Co Donegal.

News was at first sketchy, a car was submerged, there were at least three fatalities, then it turned to four then five and then a glimmer of hope, a baby had been rescued by a local man who dived into the water.

As the paper went to print there was a call to say five hearses were now lined up on the pier, a place more used to holiday makers and ferry passengers.

Buncrana is place where many of us from the north would have spent childhood summer holidays.

The weather had been glorious earlier that day as I made my way to work, it finally felt as though spring had arrived.

All the more tragic when you think of the happy family scenes at the waterfront in the picturesque Donegal seaside town, children eating ice cream, watching the boats and jet skis, excited at the start of the Easter holidays, no school for two weeks.

Louise James, her lovely wee family wiped out in a tragedy of mammoth proportions, would have been left with no one to hold for comfort had Davitt Walsh not swam out and saved little Rionagh-Ann.

The family's priest Fr Paddy O'Kane said Louise told him she'd have been all alone were it not for the little girl, that she is all she has left to live for.

I dearly hope that little miracle child brings her hope and comfort and shines some light into an awful darkness.

Davitt Walsh's account of how Sean McGrotty handed him his baby and asked him to save her, before going back in to stay with his other children Mark (12) and wee eight-year-old Evan was a real life Sophie's Choice.

Years working as a journalist has hardened me, I like to think I can cover most events with the required professional detachment, you learn to turn off your emotions, but the details of the family's last minutes before their car disappeared under the water is one of the most distressing things I've ever heard.

In that split second Sean McGrotty had to make a call and along with Davitt he is also a hero.

He could have swam ashore, he could be here alive today and instead he plunged to the icy depths with his terrified sons, mother in law Ruth Daniels and children's young aunt Jodie Lee.

Little Evan had muscular dystrophy, how could that wee man be expected to swim to safety?

Louise amid her unimaginable grief is a woman who had chosen well in life and had a partner who loved his children over himself and died rather than leave them alone and afraid. I hope that is of some small comfort to her.

I couldn't tell you what I worked on during every evening shift in the last year. They tend to morph into one big rush to meet deadlines and ensure all that needs to be in the next day's edition of the Irish News has been filed.

But I'll remember forever what I did on Sunday night past, watching as the production editor typed the most horrific of headlines onto the front page.

A reminder of the deadly power of the sea, how life can and does at times change in a split second and while I often see the worst side of humanity working as a reporter it is a reminder there are brave, decent, selfless people in this world.

There was no shortage of bravery on Buncrana pier on Sunday evening, Davitt Walsh, the coastguards and paramedics that attended the scene and fought to save the family and one man who didn't survived to tell his story.

As they prepare to bury their loved ones I can only send my deepest sympathies to the Daniels and McGrotty families at this awful time.