'Guardian Angel' -Heroic Clare woman honoured at National Bravery Awards

It was a day of celebration on Friday at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park as individuals from across Ireland were honoured at the National Bravery Awards for risking their own lives to help others in peril.

Clare woman Mary Noonan was among those honoured at the ceremony for their acts of bravery and courage. Cork, Dublin, Galway, Waterford, Westmeath and Wexford were also represented at the prestigious awards.

The Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, presented the ceremony in the Phoenix Park wherein seven certificates, eleven bronze medals, four silver medals and one gold medal were awarded to recipients. 

The annual awards are granted by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – founded in 1947 to enable State recognition of exceptional Acts of Bravery.

The Council is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle and includes the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, the Lord Mayors of Dublin and Cork, the Garda Commissioner, the President of the Association of City & County Councils, and the Chairman of the Irish Red Cross.

READ NEXT: Clare chosen as pilot county for Local Sports and Physical Activity Plan

Mary Noonan was awarded with a Certificate of Bravery for rescuing a boy from drowning in Kilkee, County Clare in July 2019. Mary had been swimming in the area when she heard shouting and saw a young boy going under the water. The boy's father had been calling for help and was wading out towards his son when he got into difficulty himself.

Mary courageously swam to the young boy who was panicking and sinking beneath the water. By the time she got to him he was face down in the water, so she pulled him back towards the shore and began desperately trying to get him to breathe.

The boy was coughing up a lot of water, but Mary got him back to his father who had regained his footing and was out of danger. Although the young boy was taken to hospital due to the risk of secondary drowning, he thankfully recovered well.

The boy's family thanked Mary for her help and called her ‘their guardian angel’.

Speaking to the guests at the joyous ceremony today, the Ceann Comhairle said: "This November day in Farmleigh is a day when we celebrate people who have made the world feel a little less dark, a little less dangerous and whose actions speak to the very best and noblest of impulses.

"This singular day marks moments where self-preservation was cast aside by our brave recipients as they risked their lives to help someone else."

He added: "These moments matter, because in many cases, lives were saved that would have been lost. They matter because even when people were lost, in some of the awful tragedies we remember today, those people were not alone.

"They would have known and their families know, that someone was with them, someone was bravely and desperately trying to save them, to bring them home."