Limerick man remembers the day students helped pull 11 people from the Shannon

THE WATERS were choppy, the sky overcast as members of An Garda Síochána launched their new eight-man rowing boat into the Shannon waters at O'Callaghan Strand.

Soon all men aboard would be submerged in the river. Nine were on board (including the cox) on that faithful day in the afternoon of May 10, 1968.

The waters have sustained life in Limerick since before 1000 AD. The city would likely never have been built without the wondrous flow of the River Shannon. Its beauty and heritage know no limit yet its treachery in certain climates should never be underestimated.

This is known so well by members of the city’s rowing and boating clubs as the 55th anniversary of one of the most poignant and adrenaline-inducing river rescues in Limerick city's history is marked.

This week 55 years ago, it was quickly discovered that the waters ahead were disturbed and far too turbulent for the rowers to be out.

Shortly, the crew had reached Sarsfield Bridge, the grey of the overpass mimicking the dark skies above, the cox ordered his men to turn around and make pace back to the St Michaels club.

The difficult turning manoeuvre the crew attempted proved too strenuous and the rising waves of the Shannon launched the boat into one of the middle piers holding up Sarsfield Bridge.

The impact caused the crew in the centre of the boat to be up to their necks in water, while those on the ends were sitting above the water on the boat.

“Many people gathered on Sarsfield Bridge, there could have been 100 onlookers,” recalled John Allen this week.

John, from Clarina was present in Limerick Boat Club overlooking the water on the day of the rescue.

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He was just 15 and a student at Ardscoil Rís at the time and was with two other young individuals, Liam Madden and Frank White.

According to John, members of Limerick Boat Club and Ardscoil Rís Boat Club were rowing in the water when the commotion started and a rescue of the gardai was swiftly launched.

“We stepped outside and got instructions from our coach who was in the water at the time to launch (a boat) into the water to save the gardai,” John explained.

“There are a lot of rules with boating. We’re taught to be careful with and not touch the ground or scrape up against anything when entering the waterway.

“However, on this occasion, the boat was heavy and there were only three of us. We had to break the rules,” he added.

When John (pictured) and the crew of two others reached the gardai’s boat, the edifice of the ship broke apart and all aboard were thrown into the water.

One of his most haunting memories of the day was one of the gardai’s hands reaching above the water, with the rest of his body including his head, submerged.

“I remember pulling him into the boat. We did at least three trips, carrying two people at a time back to the boat club,” John said, staring and pointing over to the Limerick Boat Club building, sitting above the Shannon.

More commotion was caused when two rescuers aboard another boat (also manned by gardai) came into distress. Their boat also sank.

“Our boat took in six people, including some of those from the second sunken boat,” outlined John.

One memory that came back to John was when the fire brigade finally arrived. The brigade tried to rescue those struggling by lowering a ladder at the corner of Sarsfield Bridge into the water. However, the bank at that point was “too high” so those in distress couldn’t be reached. This caused some difficulties.

“They eventually got more ladders and they rescued what I think was three people from the water,” John said.

A total of 11 were in the water and a total of 11 were saved. There were no casualties thanks to the rescuers but according to John "one or two had to be taken to hospital".

Afterwards, John and his crew were ordered back out into the water by their coach to pick up any remaining debris in the Shannon.

According to John, the sense of “challenge and adventure” got him and the two other boys aboard the boat through the incident.

At the time of the rescue, Ardscoil Rís had a rowing team but have not had one since the incident.

“It might be an opportune time for them to begin to restart one,” said John.

Following the incident, the rescue became a symbol of pride at Ardscoil Rís where Brother McGinty who was deputy principal of the school at the time displayed photos of the incident taken by the Limerick Leader in the school for all to see.