A GROUP OF rescuers were involved in saving a herd of horses stranded on an island on the River Shannon this morning.
According to one of the team, the animals wouldn’t have survived another night, without the intervention.
The horses found themselves stuck on Ballymacegan Island, on the border between Galway and Tipperary today, after rapidly rising water levels on the River Shannon.
Unable to save them himself, their owner contacted the Athlone Sub Aqua Club.
Liam Sherringham, Search and Recovery Coordinator, who took part in the dramatic rescue at around 11 am, told TheJournal.ie:
With the help of our rescue boat and Jetski, and a large number of our divers in drysuits, we successfully swam the horses off the island and over to the Galway shore.
These horses would not have survived another night on the island, as the water was three feet up on them, and they were very cold, with visible signs of distress.
What could so easily have ended in tragedy, has come to the best possible conclusion.
Once the horses had rested on the Galway shore, they were taken away by lorry and thankfully are in a warm stable.
Sherringham says all the horses are doing well, and will make a full recovery.
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