A father and son – both members of the Order of Malta – have been recognised for their bravery for saving a woman’s life on Inis Óirr after she fell unconscious in the water.

On a sunny August day last year, Darragh and Paul Cullivan from Dublin were part of an extended family outing to Inis Óirr beach.

Paul had earlier noticed the woman swimming on the port side of the beach because of her strokes.

“I kept watching her for a while because her stroke seemed to be a bit unusual but she seemed okay so I continued to play with my nephews, running in and out of the waves. It was a bank holiday weekend, the sun was splitting the rocks and there was a big crowd around,” he recalled.

He was drying himself off when he heard a shout ring out from the beach for someone to call a lifeguard. As he spotted people bringing a woman ashore, he and Darragh ran into the water to chest level and immediately began rescue breaths on her.

Once they had her on the sand they commenced CPR.

“We’re both members of the Order of Malta, Darragh is a highly trained EMT. I would have trained when I was in my 20s but it’s something that never leaves you,” he told the Connacht Tribune.

A bystander collected the defibrillator from the GAA pitch but it indicated that no shock was needed on the woman. So they continued to do CPR until they got a pulse.

“We kept working on her 15 minutes until she came around. A doctor who was holidaying on the island came but by that stage she was conscious.”

Lifeguards who had been on duty until 4pm had left on the ferry.

Meanwhile Darragh’s wife, Meabh Murray, contacted the coastguard, who indicated they would dispatch a helicopter from Shannon and to get the beach cleared for an emergency landing.

By the time it landed, the patient was breathing and talking before being whisked off for treatment at University Hospital Galway.

The father and son from Tallaght received the ‘Seiko Just in Time Award’ from Water Safety. They were gifted two watches by the company while Meabh Murray received a ‘Rescue Appreciation Award’.

The extended families have been holidaying on Inis Óirr for a decade, renting local houses for a week every summer.’

But this was certainly one of their most dramatic days on the Aran Islands.

“In the Order of Malta, we would have treated people for injuries, falls, at the likes of concerts, cycle races. But it’s the first time either of us had this level of input into a person’s survival.”

Paul understands that the woman they recused was a visitor with a group of friends.

“We would love to know how she got on. We tried to find out from locals whether she made a full recovery, but nobody knew her. All we heard is that a friend went with her in the helicopter and that she did survive.”

There were among 32 people honoured for saving 19 people at risk of drowning at a ceremony in Dublin Castle recently.

Drownings fell by almost 17% to 588 from 2017 to 2021 compared to 706 between 2012 to 2016.  Over half of these, 338 (57%), were accidental drownings while 38% were by suicide. Of those, 83 or a quarter of the accidental drownings were swimmers.

Irish Water Safety also gave a special award Galway journalist Lorna Siggins, who has covered water safety issues for various publication, including Afloat, a digital news site for people for water-based activities. She is the author of “Search and Rescue: True Stories of IrishAir Sea Rescue and the Loss of R116”.

“Her efforts to raise public awareness has played a vital role in preventing accidents and we thank her for her continued support and dedication to keeping our communities safe around water,” remarked the judges.

Pictured: Darragh and Paul Cullivan and Meabh Murray receiving a Seiko Just In Time and Rescue Appreciation Award respectively from Minister Anne Rabbitte and Water Safety Ireland Chairperson Clare McGrath (right), at the annual ceremony in Dublin Castle.