Victor Shine of Crosshaven Coast Guard told RTÉ radio’s Morning that the teenagers, who were fishing in a light rib near Roches Point, were able to assist because their boat was small enough to reach the area, which would have been difficult for the Coast Guard.
“I must commend them for their heroic efforts,” he said.
It was “a challenging area” where the incident occurred, he added.
It is understood that the nine-year-old boy had been on an inflatable device when he was caught in a strong current and was swept out to sea. His father went into the water to help him and both were swept out further.
The teens – Jamie Venner, Richard McSweeney, Cillian Foster, Kate Horgan and Harry Pritchard – were fishing in a rib at White Bay, near Roches Point, when they rushed to the scene to save the father who was left clinging to a marker buoy.
They retrieved the man onto their boat, and brought him ashore where he was reunited with his son who is understood to have made his way ashore himself.
Mr Shine said that both the father and son were suffering severe hypothermia and the emergency services brought them to a camp fire on the beach to warm them up while also wrapping them in foil blankets.
There were concerns about blood pressure so the Coast Guard helicopter landed on the beach to transport them to hospital in Cork.
Three of the teenagers involved in the rescue have direct family connections to the RNLI. And in a remarkable twist, the father of one of the teens was at the helm of the lifeboat which was tasked to the incident.
Jamie’s dad, Ian, is a member of Crosshaven RNLI. Cillian is a brother of another Crosshaven RNLI crew member, Caoimhe Foster, and Richard’s father, Kieran, is a former crew member of Baltimore RNLI.
