On Thursday’s Morning Focus John Cooke was joined by Jim McMahon from Ennis.  Jim’s daughter Ellen and her two friends, Aisling O’Sullivan and Eve Copley, who are currently undertaking their Junior Cert exams, are being hailed as heroes after helping to rescue a woman and her dog from the river bank in the town. The female pedestrian got into difficulty after her dog jumped into the water at Steele’s Rock opposite's Carney's Pub on Lifford Road and she subsequently went into the river to try and save him. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at around 7pm. The young students then quickly grabbed a nearby lifebuoy from the river bank and threw it to the woman who managed to latch on and eventually was pulled from the water. Also joining the show was Liam Griffin of Clare Civil Defence who paid tribute to the quick thinking of the young students.  He also pointed out how vital it is to have life saving equipment on hand for just such an incident.

Christine Buckley, Institutional Abuse Surv