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26th February 2013 • Volume 20, Issue 07 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
Heartbreaking Discovery Off Skerries The body of missing Rush man, Paul Byrne has been found by local fishermen from Skerries, on Friday night last. The grim discovery was made by the crew of the trawler, Nausicaa. The owner and skipper, Richard Brannigan, said that the crew discovered the body in their nets about nine miles east of Skerries. Paul Byrne went missing in the early hours of
By Patrick Finnegan Christmas Day. The coastline and estuaries from Skerries to Portrane were scoured for him by the Coastguard and Civil Defence in the weeks following his disappearance. Paul was last seen by his house mates in Rush in the early hours of Christmas morning. He was due to celebrate his
It’s A Dog’s Life A dog is man’s best friend, or so the saying goes, but in the case of Hector the dog, the reverse is certainly the case. It was just a typical
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morning for Collette Connolly from Rush, as she set off with her two dogs, Hector and Libby, for their usual bright and early walk along the
South Beach at Rush. It was to turn out as anything but an ordinary morning for them all. What transpired was a remarkable rescue of Hector, a mixed border collie, who was moments away from losing his life. In an exclusive interview Collette told the County Leader, “The dogs love their early morning run along the beach. We’ve been doing it for the past three years. I brought a ball and stick and I hit the ball up into the air. When it landed, it hit one of the hard sand ridges and flew
high into the sky. Hector jumped very high and, with the extra height Hector had to jump, the ball, which was the size of a tennis ball, got stuck in his throat.” Hector became very distressed trying to cough up the ball. “I panicked and didn’t know what to do. There was nobody on the beach at that hour of the morning and I had my fist underneath his chest in an effort to push the ball back up from his throat and into his mouth. “I thought the worst he can have is a sore throat. Libby was
25th birthday on New Year’s Eve. Gardai, along with units of the Coastguard and the RNLI, were on the scene at Skerries Harbour, when local trawler, the Nausicaa arrived with the body at about 7.00pm. Paul’s mother, Mary The Late Paul Byrne has said she is heartbroken after his body was recovered from the sea. She told the County Leader, “I’m absolutely devastated that Paul was come to such an end. My other son, Stephen identified a belt he gave to Paul and they took my DNA and Paul’s dental records. The clothes he was wearing were also identified by Stephen.” “The only consolation is that we now have a place where we can come and visit him on birthdays and other times and we can grieve for him properly now. If he had not been found, I wouldn’t have been able to live with that. I would always be wondering if he was still alive or not,” she said. going frantic as she gets jealous if I pay extra attention to Hector. It was one of those freak accidents. His heartbeat was now very weak. I was wondering how to get Hector home, as he’s quite a large dog, weighing 27 kilos. I’ve had both dogs since they were six months old and they are like members of the family,” said Collette. “Suddenly, I saw a white jeep and started waving frantically at it. The jeep was driven by Gary Creighton, from Skerries Coastguards, who got out to investigate. He said that he thought Collette was trying to lift a bag, but when he discovered the seriousness of the situation, he did compressions as
Hector was now unconscious, with no sign of life. He had never given CPR to a dog before and, with Collette still trying to move the ball back up into his mouth, Gary could see the ball and put his fingers down in an effort to retrieve it. Gary then managed to remove the ball and I threw my arms around him. I thought he was my angel sent from heaven,” said a very relieved Collette, who confirmed that Hector is none the worse for his misadventure and is still chasing the ball. Collette and Hector have been getting a lot of attention around Rush since the incident occurred, as it was featured on the John Murray Show on RTE
The Heart Of Shopping In Balbriggan Collette Connolly is pictured at home in Rush with her dog, Hector, after his life threatening experience on Rush beach last week.
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Even in her darkest hour, Mary was mindful of others in similar predicaments. “My heart has always gone out to fishermen’s wives, when they are lost at sea and to parents of young people who take their own lives. It’s something that I would love to get involved in and to help in whatever way I can. I’m very grateful that Paul has been found and is coming home and I hope to meet the fishermen who found him and to express my deep gratitude to them,” she concluded. Paul Byrne will be laid to rest in Fingal Cemetery, Balgriffin later this week. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
The trawler, The Nausicaa whose crew made the grim discovery on Friday evening
radio. “I joke with people who stop me and say that Hector is now doing paw prints, but seriously, I am very
grateful to the Skerries Coastguard and to Gary in particular, for his speedy reactions,” concluded Collette.