Heroic Laois Garda presented with national bravery award

A Laois man has received a bravery award for the heroic rescue with a colleague of a woman in Dublin.

Garda Brendan Crawford from Ballyroan, and his colleague Garda Ciaran Murray were presented with bronze medals at the Oireachtas National Bravery awards ceremony in Farmleigh House Dublin.

They had rescued a woman from the River Camac on the morning of 17 June 2020. The woman was walking her dog on a harness lead near the Camac river when the pet fell into the water near a culvert running under the M50 motorway and pulled its owner in too.

There had been very heavy rain in the previous days and the water level was high. The current was so strong that the lady and her dog were swept into the culvert tunnel.

When Gardaí arrived the woman was too far down the tunnel to be seen but could be heard crying for help. The Gardaí took ropes from their car and entered the water. The woman was located about 50 feet into the tunnel which was too far for their rope.

The Laois based Garda and Garda Murray continued through the water and managed to get to the woman who had held onto her dog which was struggling, causing her to sink under the water but eventually they assisted the lady out of the tunnel. 

Garda Crawford took hold of the dog and both he and Garda Murray assisted the lady out of the tunnel and eventually brought her back through the waters. Despite being barely able to speak from cold and shock, the lady made a full recovery.

The Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, presented 16 National Bravery Awards to individuals from Carlow, Tipperary and Laois, all of whom risked their own lives to aid others in peril.

The annual honours are awarded by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – which was founded 75 years ago 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.

The Ceann Comhairle spoke at the awards on Friday, November 18. 

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“We present awards, to brave recipients from every corner of the country. Letters of commendation have also issued to nine people for deeds and actions which saved lives and protected others from harm.

"Through the 75 years of the Bravery awards we have heard of hundreds of lives that have been saved. We cannot know what lives were lived or what generations have grown as a result of these deeds, but we do know that every deed made a difference. Every act of bravery matters to the people who were saved and sometimes, even more so, to those who are left behind after an unsuccessful rescue attempt.

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"On behalf of the people of Ireland let me thank the brave recipients for their actions, for their selflessness, for their courage and for showing us that we can all make a difference on this island we share and in this world we walk together,” he said.

Silver and Gold Awards were also presented.