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SHOULD YOUR FAITH in human nature ever waver, be assured, there are some very, very brave Irish people out there.
42 of them were honoured at a ceremony at Farmleigh House today at the latest edition of the National Bravery Awards.
The awards are an annual occurrence and range from certificates of bravery, through bronze, silver and gold medals (the last of which are only awarded on very rare occasions).
Those honoured include Kerri Brosnan (who was 11 when she saved her mother’s life following an attack by a suckler cow), Róisín Halligan (who saved her young cousins from a deadly petrol bomb attack and sustained severe burns in the process), Garda Michael Twomey (who sustained serious injuries when confronting joyriders in Cork city), and John O’Donoghue (who was 15 when he saved his father who was gored by a bull on their family farm). Their stories are detailed below.
Other stories involving saving people from burning buildings, burning cars, and those who had fallen into rivers, were ten a penny at today’s ceremony. One group of teenagers even saved a woman who had fallen onto a DART line following an epileptic fit.
Dáil Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett, who presented the awards, said that it was “truly an honour” to give the recipients such recognition.
“Their courage and selflessness make them examples to us all and I believe that it is vital that such acts are recognised publicly,” he said.
These men, women and children of Ireland went to the aid of others, at great risk to their own safety and we salute them for their outstanding deeds.
The Bravery Awards have been running since 1947. The awarding council is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle, and also features the Garda Commissioner, the Lord Mayors of Dublin and Cork, and the chairman of the Irish Red Cross.
11-year-old girl saves her mother’s life on family farm
In September 2013 11-year-old Kerri’s mother was attacked by a suckler cow that rammed her against the wall of a calving pen on their family farm in Co Cork.
Kerri banged on the gate to try to distract the cow, before throwing it a bucket of nuts, which distracted the animal. This gave her mother a chance to escape. Having done so she collapsed in pain. She had suffered broken ribs, a tear to her liver and a severely bruised lung.
Using her mother’s phone, Kerri called for help, first to her father who was some distance away, next to a neighbour (who was a nurse) who came to her mother’s aid. Kerri kept her younger siblings calm in the meantime by having one of them sit with her mother to keep her awake, while she sent the other to meet the neighbour to show her where to go.
Her mother subsequently made a full recovery. Kerri received a bronze medal and certificate of bravery today in recognition of her actions.
Waterford girl saves cousins’ lives following petrol bomb attack
Late one October evening in 2014 Róisín was sitting watching television with her one-year-old cousin in a house at Ardmore Park, Waterford, when a petrol bomb was thrown through the front window and into the room.
Róisín instinctively moved to protect her cousin, shielding her from the flames. Another cousin, aged just three months, was also present in the house.
The blaze was extinguished by the cousins’ grandmother. However, in acting out of sheer bravery, Róisín herself sustained serious burns to her face, body, arms and legs which led to her spending several weeks in Cork University Hospital.
Róisín was awarded a bronze medal and a certificate of bravery at today’s event.
Cork Garda blocks road on motorbike from drunken joyriders
Garda Michael Twomey found himself caught in a deadly situation in April 2014 when a pair of joyriders wrought a trail of destruction across Cork city.
The pair initially stole a van before committing a burglary at a local hotel in which a large quantity of alcohol was taken.
They proceeded to joyride across the city and were involved in five separate collisions.
Garda Twomey correctly anticipated the route of travel of the van at this stage, and set up a one-man traffic warning point at a junction in the joyriders’ path.
The pair rammed his motorcycle deliberately which saw Garda Twomey sustain serious back, neck and leg injuries. The two offenders were later arrested and convicted.
For his actions on that day, Garda Twomey was today awarded a silver medal and certificate of bravery.
Teenager saves father from bull by grabbing its nose ring
While moving cattle on the family farm in June 2013, 15-year-old John O’Donoghue’s father Joe was attacked and gored by a bull.
John ran to his father’s aid and grabbed the bull’s nose ring in an attempt to divert it. He succeeded in doing so long enough for his father to escape.
Their ordeal wasn’t over. As they ran for safety the bull hit Joe once more. This time John grappled the animal about its neck, once more earning his father a window of escape.
The two made it to their jeep, which the bull continued to attack until they left the field. Joe was badly injured, but has made a full recovery.
John received a silver medal and certificate of bravery at today’s ceremony.
A more complete list of all 42 people honoured today can be found here.
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One can only hope the banks recent advertising blitz on every single app imaginable is a positive sign. Would be a real shame if it closes and vomit enducing if that shower of S$!tes PTSB got there hands on it.
They are still filling new positions as of now pointing to a desire to remain.
The last thing this country needs is LESS competition in the banking sector!
We should be encouraging every euro-zone bank to set up operations in Ireland.
KBC was also bailed out in Belgium..
hope they f@ck off and bring my mortgage with them.
You want them to go leaving less banks and less competition so the others can increase fees
@the truth:
They had no problems causing anxiety and worry to tracker mortgage holders who they moved off their trackers and took seven years to admit it.
It not nice to see anybody worried, but they showed no empathy for their customers who they were diddling out of their trackers and then refused to engage with.
I’m finishing it hard to have too much sympathy for KBC .
Me too the truth. I’ll say a prayer :-)
I went from a fixed rate to a tracker Joan & KBC never tried to take it off me. They have been very helpful to me. Obviously it helps that i’m not in negative equity.
if they take my mortgage with them I don’t give a bollix what they leave darren
Amen trisha
@Trisha Tully: that’s good for you. I’m glad.
it doesn’t make the case I’m speaking of any less true.
KBC acted appallingly to the clients and caused considerable anxiety and failed time and again to engage with them, despite having been directed to by the central bank.
They eventually were forced to apologise .
Is it possible to bank in Ireland without state subsidies. AIB have been bailed out twice in 30 years how can other banks compete when they now the two big Irish banks will get a bail out when ever they get in trouble.
Not all banks were bailed. KBC wasn’t.
@Joe
Parent company KBC were bailed out twice in last 8 years, €3.5 billion by the Federal government in 2008 and a further €3.5 billion by the Flemish government in 2009.
KBC Ireland in turn have twice being bailed out by their Belgian parent and is due to start paying a dividend back to the parent in 2017.
KBC Ireland have been bailed out twice from KBC in Belgium via some of the funds from the 2 bailouts given to KBC by Belgium and Flemish governments in 2007 and 2009
They were in just a big a mess as Irush banks.
KBC bank Ireland were bailed out Google it.
NOT BY THE IRISH TAX PAYER. It was funded to set up retail by Belgium.
You are presenting Kellyanne Conway ‘alternative facts’ there, KBC Ireland were bailed out due to the accumulation of losses and write offs on its mortgage books
Kbc is a bond holder. We bailed them out
@Rebecca De Stanleigh: KBC Ireland were bailed out they were bailed out by the Belgian Government and that is 100% fact
@Brendan Crowe: I see your point and you are correct but also the belgian government bailed the irish branch of KBC
That’s already been sorted, in future it’ll be a ‘bail-in’ that saves the bank. Deposits will be hit.
Metro bank in the U.K. And Toronto Dominion in the U.S have done well to penetrate the retail banking markets against large legacy banks…
To succeed they need to be faster to respond to market demands, have a plan to profitability, decent leadership, appeal to young professionals, be more service orientated, more innovative, sell more ancillary products and services, take advantage of technology to provide better services at less cost.
Unfortunately the recent entrants into the Irish market seem to believe they can beat the legacies by offering the exact same products and services for less margins and overspending on advertising.
Neither appealing heavily to students with promotions, taking a loss on services sold to them and relying on a legacy of deposits from high wealth baby boomers will yield success for a new market entrant.
Wow Drew.. what bank do you run with such enlightening thiughts?..
Drew.
KBC are in Ireland since 1978, hardly a new entrant
Yet only entered the Irish retail/consumer banking market in 2012…
Cormac. You article is full of rubbish.
Get your facts right Rebecca !!!!
My facts are right. Thanks though
The bubble is about to burst again.
If state/public keep bailing banks out it begs the question of why they are not in public ownership full time and their profits used for the public good.
If a bank has 600 million net profit in Q4, who gets that money?
We should not be bailing out banks, we should be purchasing shares.
While it’s no guarantee, currently analysts (Deutsche Bank) suggest they will be staying. The bank is profitable, the recently expanded credit connections between the parent and subsidiary would make a split difficult, and while they can’t comment on the future of operations here till 9th February, they did say that (group-wide) there were no pending mergers or acquisitions.
Deutsche itself exited 10 countries recently… Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay Denmark, Finland, Norway, Malta and New Zealand. HSBC and Barclays performed similar pull backs.
Profitability is no assurance of a bank remaining in a foreign market, especially in retail banking.
KBC should be nationalised. If you need to ask why, then you obviously do not understand how the economy works. Solidarity with the workers trying to obtain a greater share in the wealth which they create.
@Benjy ..please explain how the Irish government nationalises a Belgium owned bank with a branch’s here ?
Bye bye
I have been warning about the terrible poverty facing Irish neighbors. The figures simply don’t add up. Take subsidies out of farming and the whole thing collapses. We will soon have the highest electricity prices in the world and carbon taxes on burning fuel. Jobs will go , poverty is the result. I makes me cringe
#kbc
I hope my husband isn’t reading this today…who knows what i might say!
#BANKOFME
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