4 American brothers swim an hour to rescue 6 year old girl swept out to sea in Ireland

[Amaryllis]

A 6-year-old was swept out to sea, and a group of brothers dove in after her
Marisa Iati
1 day ago

The girl on the pink flamingo-shaped raft was floating away quickly, screaming as her father yelled for a lifeguard who didn’t appear.
Four brothers, who were visiting Ireland from the D.C. area, had just unpacked their towels after arriving at Portmarnock Beach near Dublin, where they had expected to spend a relaxing afternoon Monday. Before they could think about it, they were sprinting into the sea and swimming toward the girl as fast as they could during the almost hour-long rescue.

“I knew we were getting deep, but I didn’t care,” Declan Butler, 18, said Wednesday in an interview. “I just didn’t want to give up on her.”

Snip

Two days after they saved the 6-year-old, the brothers were still thinking about an unlikely twist of fate: They had traveled to Ireland to celebrate the life of their recently deceased grandfather, whose brother drowned on the same date decades before the rescue.

“It’s kind of like this godly, guardian angel kind of feeling,” Walter said, “that the same day he drowned 64 years ago is the day we actually saved the life of a 6-year-old girl.”

See link for details of the rescue. So inspiring.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/a-6-year-old-was-swept-out-to-sea-and-a-group-of-brothers-dove-in-after-her/ar-AAEQGV3?OCID=ansmsnnews11#page=2

[mcar]

1. Humanity can be beautiful

[Amaryllis]

2. And don't we appreciate stories like that to remind us in the midst of ....well, you know.

I especially like stories with an international aspect like this that remind us that we (humanity) really have much more in common than we have differences.

[busterbrown]

18. Well Stated! N/C

[mercuryblues]

3. What are the odds

Declan, his twin Eoghan Butler, and Walter Butler, 21, are strong athletes. So is their brother-in-law, Alex Thomson.

Three had swum competitively, and Thomson, 24, is an ultra-runner. Walter had been a rescue swimmer on a Coast Guard cutter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/a-6-year-old-was-swept-out-to-sea-and-a-group-of-brothers-dove-in-after-her/ar-AAEQGV3?OCID=ansmsnnews11#page=2

[Amaryllis]

5. I LOVE stories that defy the odds. They bring a sense of wonder, awe and gratitude.

[iluvtennis]

14. ++++++++ agree.

[Rural_Progressive]

30. I was a rescue swimmer on the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell (WHEC719)

long, long time ago. I will tell you that going in the water in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea is an exhilarating experience and not for the faint of heart. Fortunately we never had a helo miss the landing pad or any crew members end up overboard but the old man did love his drills so I got to know what really, really cold water feels like on a regular basis.

Well done young men and Semper paratus to Walter!!

[sheshe2]

4. You made me cry.

Those beautiful boys.

[smirkymonkey]

6. That is just an amazing story of courage and humanity.

If they hadn't been there at that time and place this could have ended up a terrible tragedy. I commend these young men for their bravery. The story about their grandfather's brother is an interesting twist.

I am glad we have people like this to help repair the damage that Trump is doing to our reputation in the world.

Well done, lads!

[Aristus]

8. I was just thinking the same thing.

[brer cat]

7. Thank you, Amaryllis.

We need to share these accounts of bravery and humanity to counter the evil and inhumanity of the trump administration.

[Amaryllis]

9. That was exactly my thought when I posted it. I think I am only going to post uplifting threads

from now on. I just took a two-day mental health break from the internet... and it was wonderful. It could be argued that this thread is off-topic, but we need to be inspired so we can keep up our morale, and I think that anything that shows, as you say, bravery and humanity is on-topic here.

[SMC22307]

11. Bra-vo to that!

That was an amazing story... thanks for posting.

[RVN VET71]

10. It's a beautiful story, and wonderful but

--- I know I'm being the picker of nits here, but how could their grandfather be considered "recently deceased" if he, indeed, drowned 64 years ago?

Regardless, these young men are awesome, heroes of the sort that in old Ireland would have spawned paeans and odes of commemoration. And, who knows, maybe they will still.

[SMC22307]

12. Read it again. The grandfather's brother drowned 64 years ago. (n/t)

[thesquanderer]

13. The recently deceased grandfather's BROTHER drowned 64 years ago. (nt)

[RVN VET71]

21. My bad.

Thanks for the correction.

[jberryhill]

29. Because he fell into a vat of whiskey, and had a lot of fight in him

[backtoblue]

15. I love this story!

I sometimes forget just how good humans can be. Thanks for the reminder

Edit: this response was meant for the thread about the ark woman buying shoes for kids. I'm gonna leave this one here anyway because it really is a cool story!

[Amaryllis]

16. Your comment really applies to both stories!

[GETPLANING]

17. I have been there

That water is freezing cold, even in the summer. Those kids took a bigger risk than most people realize. Most people wouldn't last an hour out there.
And while we're at it, ya know what makes America great? Americans.

[Duppers]

20. Most Americans.

[LisaL]

22. Lucky they were athletic and trained swimmers.

Most people would have drowned if attempted same rescue.

[betsuni]

19. I love stories like this.

[Liberal In Texas]

23. 4 real life heros. Hope they're getting lots of free rounds in the pubs. n/t

[GeoWilliam750]

24. Such wonderful young men

[tblue37]

25. They actually rescued the girl's father, too, who tried to swim out after her but ended up

in trouble himseof:

Walter also said that as the brothers were swimming out toward the girl, her father grabbed a life vest, threw it around his own neck and swam out to try to save his daughter, as well. But the father was not a strong swimmer, and after the girl was safe on land, the father was still in the water.

The girl’s brother approached the four rescuers for more help, and two of them swam back in to get the father.

“Eoghan and Declan actually brought the dad into shore, as well,” Walter said.

[Iliyah]

26. Finally a glimmer of hope for mankind . . .

Nice to read positive stories. Thank you.

[Eyeball_Kid]

27. Wonderful story. All are safe. The good deed was done. n/t

[elleng]

28. GREAT!

'Declan and Eoghan, who live in Arlington, Va., and Thomson, who lives in Rockville, Md., said they weren’t sure how long she’d be able to hold on to the raft.'

There should be celebrations when they return home!

[NCjack]

33. They will get free beer forever in Ireland. nt

[elleng]

34. Well THAT's true, and maybe in northern Virginia, and MD suburbs of DC!

[elocs]

31. This is the kind of story that makes me proud to be an American.

To celebrate 4 young men with compassion and empathy and putting those into action.

[Ferrets are Cool]

32. This is an inspiring story

but all too often these actions have tragic ends. Just this summer, a man near my home swam after a teen who got caught in a riptide and both died.
This could have ended tragically.
I am very happy it had a happy ending.