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Fahan teen saves man’s
life
26.08.08
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
A 14 year-old Fahan boy has been hailed a hero after
raising the alarm when a man got into difficulties
in mud flats at Fahan Creek last Thursday.
Stephen Doherty was walking on the beach near Fahan
Marina and spotted the man walking near the
shoreline. “I saw him on the sandbar and knew that
he was going to get stuck,” Stephen said yesterday.
“I told him to stay still because if he panicked and
struggled he would be sucked further down.”
The man sank to his waist in the soft sand as the
tide rapidly came in around him, evoking memories of
the circumstances surrounding the death of 13
year-old Brian McDaid on the Foyle near St Johnston
in May. |
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Stephen was in the
company of his young cousins, David and Gwen
O’Brien, and left them on the scene as he raced off
to raise the alarm. “I warned them not to go out to
him in case they’d get stuck too.”
The Crana College student flagged down a South
African tourist and sent him to the nearby Marina
with instructions to get a rope and send the
tractor.
The incident happened in a blackspot for mobile
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coverage and Stephen
tried a number of empty houses before finally
getting someone at home who telephoned the emergency
services.
Malin Head Marine Rescue Centre were alerted and
tasked the Lough Swilly RNLI lifeboat and the
Coastguard helicopter to the scene.
Stephen then ran to the home of Norman Walsh, a
local man whom he knew to be a canoeist. Mr Walsh
launched his canoe and carried a rope out to the
stranded man. He tied the rope around the man’s
waist allowing the people on the shore to pull him
to safety.
“We had spring tides all last week, and the water
comes in very swiftly in Fahan creek,” said Joe
Joyce of the RNLI. “Stephen’s quick thinking very
probably saved this man’s life.”
The lifeboat and helicopter were stood down before
they arrived on the scene.
Proud mum Siobhan said that Stephen has always been
very keen on watersports. “He’s good at thinking on
his feet,” she said. “He loves sailing and is always
reading books about the sea, so he probably learned
what needed to be done from that.” |
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