A group of locals came to the rescue after four children and two adults got into difficulty while swimming in Rush.
With Rogerstown Estuary basking in glorious sunshine on Sunday, July 25, four young children happily played in the water beside the pier.
The father of two of the children and his sister, the mother of the other two children, watched from the shore.
On a holiday visit to Rush, the family, who are from Dublin, were enjoying a relaxing day by the sea when suddenly everything changed.
In a matter of minutes the four children were pulled out into the current and very quickly all four were in extreme difficulty.
Hearing the screams, their parents ran into the water to help the terrified children.
However, before long they too were in difficulty and struggling to stay above water.
Rush resident Sean Nixon, who was enjoying a day out with his wife Emma and their children, could see what was happening.
“It all happened so quickly, I could see that Noel (father of two of the children) and his sister were in serious difficulty” Sean told Northside People.
“So myself and Alex, my 14 year old son, ran into the water to help.
“We’re both strong swimmers so we were confident we could help get everyone out of the water.
“When we got to them the situation started to get worse as we were struggling to keep two adults and four children up.
“I could see Alex was panicking as he struggled to keep the little 5 year old boy in his arms and stop him from going under.
“My wife Emma was watching and could see what was happening and how Alex was struggling so she started screaming for help.
“This was exactly the right thing to do and thankfully four local men and a local woman ran into the water to help.
“We formed a human chain to pull the children and adults out of the water and were able to get everyone to safety.
“It wasn’t only me and my son, only for the help of all the others, who are all also locals, I hate to think what would have happened.
“Their names are Roisin Shanahan, David Price, Adam Crinigan, Keith Vaughan and Luke Talbot.”
Sean Nixon: “This hole is what caught the kids and parents out and they fell out of their depth.”
Sean Nixon: “Beside the Pier at Rogerstown where it happened. “You can see the way the sand falls away, it’s actually creates a hole where the kids fell into. The current was pulling them out into the estuary.”
Sean said the main reason why he was sharing the story was to create awareness about the risks associated with swimming in Rogerstown Estuary.
“The stretch of water beside the pier next to Rush Sailing Club has currents which are very fast and dangerous,” Sean said.
“There’s a sandy ledge about 2/3 feet deep which then falls into 7 or 8 feet of water.
“Rogerstown beach is not a normal beach, it can be very treacherous due to the sandy ledges and currents.
“There is no signage in the area warning swimmers about these dangers so people not from the area wouldn’t have any idea about what they’re dealing with.
“Also there’s no safety buoy either which is just unbelievable to be honest.
“I hope following this incident signage and a buoy will now be installed close to the water.
“I hope everyone is aware of just how dangerous the water can be at Rogerstown.
“Sunday could have been a lot different.
“Thankfully Noel, his sister and the four children are all ok.
“He came back to the beach around an hour later to thank everyone.
“’The whole family was nearly wiped out’ he told me.
“It’s only after you go through a traumatic incident that it really hits you.”