Nine-year-old boy from Limerick awarded for saving family in collision

A NINE-year-old boy from Limerick has been awarded for his bravery at a national ceremony.

Marc O’Connor was recognised for aiding in the rescue of his mother and sister from an overturned car at Keelnahulla Cross, Cork on December 14, 2022.

26 National Bravery Awards were presented to individuals from across Ireland who risked their own lives to aid others in peril.

Marc, who is now 10, was a passenger in his mother’s car when it hit black ice and swerved across the road. Marc’s mother and his sister Sive were trapped in the car and Marc was the only one able to free himself.

He climbed out a broken window with his mother’s phone and seeked help. A van and bus driver came to their assistance as Marc rang for an ambulance before sitting and reassuring his sister, who had by now been lifted out of the car.

The ceremony that took place this Friday, at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, brought recipients together to receive certificates, six bronze medals and 13 silver medal and one gold medal award. The Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD presented recipients with their awards.

“The Irish State recognises and celebrates the noblest impulse in a human being, the impulse to risk our lives in order to save someone else’s. But just as importantly, what these awards also do is mark the importance of the lives that were saved and also those that were lost,” said the Ceann Comhairle. 

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“I say this because in several instances, we are making awards where, in spite of brave actions and valiant efforts, lives were tragically lost. Those involved in these attempts know how hard they struggled, the families of those lost appreciate their efforts as do we, the Irish nation.”

The annual honours are awarded by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – which was founded 76 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.

Recipients from Wexford, Kildare, Laois, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Mayo, Meath, Wicklow, Donegal and Dublin were among those honoured at the ceremony in Farmleigh House, for acts of courage.